


The Boy Who Vanished

by Imogen_LeFay



Series: Cooper The Vampire Slayer [7]
Category: Glee
Genre: Alternate Universe - Buffy The Vampire Slayer Fusion, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Alternate Universe - Vampire, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-14
Updated: 2019-07-07
Packaged: 2019-09-18 07:06:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 37,696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16990323
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Imogen_LeFay/pseuds/Imogen_LeFay
Summary: The thing Kurt may regret the most in his existance as a vampire is the boy who vanished, his fate the one thing he can never forgive himself.Sebastian is back, and trouble follows. It was supposed to be one last mission, one last service to his demon lord. Kurt should have known better than to let himself get dragged back. But when things go wrong, it's once again Blaine who has to bear the consequences, and who will see just how far the rabbit hole into Kurt's past goes.It all concludes with the fate of the boy who vanished.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So plans have changed again, and here we are with "The Boy Who Vanished", probably the heart of this series. I've found less and less time in the past months to actually get to writing, so this is very likely going to be the last story in this verse. There are other ideas in my head, but with the limited time I have for writing, I will probably try to use it more for original fiction, apart from the occasional one-shot that needs to get out of my head.  
> Either way, this is the important story; this is the center of Cooper the Vampire Slayer. So I hope you enjoy.  
> Let's begin.

* * *

“Hello darling. Missed me?”

 Sebastian Smythe was lounging on his ratty old sofa. All that was missing was a glass of booze in his hands to complete the picture – or knowing his old companion, a glass of something else. Kurt had vague memories of him lounging around, filling crystal cups with blood he had just let from a victim. Sebastian had always been decadent, and really, always been a horrible influence. Why had it taken so long to see that?

 Right, blood had a way to confuse his thinking.

 But now, he had to get a grip on himself. He had no use for Sebastian hanging around Sunnydale, and especially around Blaine.

 “What are you doing here, Sebastian?”

 “What, not even a hello?” the other vampire asked. Lazily, he rose to a sitting position and gave Kurt that particular look, like a cat watching a bird. “You almost make me feel unwelcome.”

 “That’s only because you are,” Kurt said. “I thought I had made my feelings for you obvious during your last visit.”

 “I must have missed that under all the swearing,” Sebastian said with a shrug. “Calm down, will you? So I gave you a hard time at first, but we figured things out, didn’t we? I really thought we parted on good terms.”

 “You pretended to want revenge for Hunter’s death,” Kurt said coldly.

 “Yeah, and you believed that!” Sebastian actually had the gall to laugh. “I mean, seriously… Hunter brought it upon himself when he moved against you, so no need to blame anyone but himself. I just hoped you’d feel bad enough about it to actually work with me.”

 “You took Blaine as a hostage!” Kurt growled.

 “Because plan A didn’t work,” Sebastian said, rolling his eyes. “And don’t act like he’s not used to it. Did you know he called that the most entertaining hostage situation he’s ever been in? Oh, and don’t get me started on how I threatened his life. It’s not my fault that you can’t call a bluff.”

 There wasn’t much Kurt could say against that. Yes, Blaine hadn’t been harmed – not even really been frightened, to be honest. Still, the whole thing was a sore spot.

 “You shouldn’t have dragged him into this, just to get your hands on that artefact,” he muttered.

 “I didn’t even take the artefact! I gave it back to him! Damn siren…” Now Sebastian’s mood soured as well. But it only lasted a moment, and then he grinned again. “So how is Blaine anyway?”

 “We just got him back from a trickster demon,” Kurt said.

 “Huh… trouble magnet, that one. You sure know how to pick them.” Sebastian asked.

 “What are you doing here?” Kurt replied. The last thing he wanted to discuss with Sebastian was Blaine – not that he wanted to talk to him at all. Cooper’s innocent remarks, and that damn prayer, had dragged up enough of his past for one night. Why would he want to be faced with one of only two people left alive who had actually witnessed his darkest moments?

 To his surprise, the expression on Sebastian’s face changed. The eternal meerkat smirk slipped and was replaced by something more serious, almost solemn.

 “We always fight, don’t we?” he asked. “I don’t even know why that is… You’d think it would be different, after all we’ve been through together.”

 For some reason, Kurt started to feel somber as well. “All the things we’ve been through… I spent about three decades putting that behind me.”

 “Because of that boy,” Sebastian said, still in that musing tone. “You never found your old self after that night…”

 “It wasn’t just him,” Kurt said, shrugging. “I just… I think I need more in life. More than just blood.”

 “It’s empty, isn’t it?”

 This really was surprising. Sebastian had never been a philosopher, had never given even the slightest hint that his eternal orgy of blood wasn’t fulfilling him.

 “Sure, the blood, the life… it’s fun,” Sebastian mused. “It’s addictive. But in the end… it’s all been done before, hasn’t it? It’s all the same.”

 “Where is this coming from?” Kurt asked.

 As fast as the weird sentiment had appeared, Sebastian shook it off again. “Guess I’ve had a philosopher for dinner. But let’s get down to business. There actually is a reason I’ve come to see you. I’m on a mission from Mommy Dearest.”

 A shudder went down Kurt’s spine. Isabelle had been the demon lord that created him, at least in his current form. Unlike most of the vampires haunting Sunnydale, he had not been transformed by a vampire’s bite. He had received the dark gift directly from the demons, and the vampires he had chosen as companions had been similar… Hunter, Starchild, and of course Sebastian, himself created by Isabelle as well. During his last visit, Sebastian had come on a mission for her as well.

 Kurt really didn’t want to be dragged into another one of Isabelle’s schemes. Not now, not when he felt like his unlife had actually become sort of stable.

 “Is she still after the Philosopher’s Stone?” he asked.

 “Not quite,” Sebastian said. “But it does concern the Brotherhood. They have an artefact that she is after. Some sort of wand, not sure what she wants with it.”

 Kurt frowned. “You’ll have some trouble finding anything from the Brotherhood. The Watchers’ Council has found their lair, and now they put Sue Sylvester on top of it. Good luck trying to get anything from there.”

 “That’s where you come in,” Sebastian said. “Your connections to the Slayer and his gang are my best point of access towards the Brotherhood.”

 “Why would I help you with that?” Kurt asked.

 “You mean why should you obey the order of both our master, rather than try to protect the Slayer’s interests?” Sebastian asked, cocking an eyebrow. “Careful, you wouldn’t want Isabelle to hear about this?”

 “I could care less,” Kurt replied, hoping he sounded more certain than he actually felt. “Isabelle can’t touch me here. She can’t enter Sunnydale.”

 “Thanks to the Brotherhood’s protection spells, yes,” Sebastian agreed. “That doesn’t stop her from sending in agents. And she can be creative if she’s pissed.”

 “She has more important things to do than come after me,” Kurt said. He and his demon lord had reached an uneasy truce the last time he had seen her. He had appeased her enough to be left alone, which he figured was the best relationship he could hope for with a being he’d sold his soul to.

 “Too bad that helping me is her direct order,” Sebastian said. “You and I are going to break into the Brotherhood’s lair and find her precious wand, and we’ll do it next full moon.”

 “Why next full moon?” Kurt asked in confusion.

 Again, Sebastian shrugged. “Hell, if I know. All she said was ‘the time has come’, whatever that means.”

 “How do I know it’s a direct order?” Kurt asked.

 Sebastian rolled his eyes. “You know it is,” he said. “Don’t pretend you haven’t heard her voices during your days lately.”

 Kurt closed his eyes. He had tried to ignore it, had hoped it wasn’t actually her calling again. But Sebastian was right. Now that he was actually confronted with the order, he could just feel that it was Isabelle’s doing.

 “So, darling, looks like you’re stuck with me,” Sebastian said. “Oh, don’t make that face. It’ll be like old times! Well, kind of like old times. But we did manage some adventures between all the blood orgies, right?”

 Kurt frowned. “Did we? I can’t remember any.”

 “Yeah, me neither. But I’m sure they were somewhere in between,” Sebastian said. “So, you’re in, right?”

 Did he have a choice? Disobeying Isabelle was the reason he had exiled himself to Sunnydale in the first place. Back then, he had just started to feel secure in this new way of unlife without killing humans, when she had ordered him on one of the bloodiest missions she ever invented. He had refused, and to escape her wrath he had gone to the one place demon lords couldn’t enter.

 How would Isabelle react this time if he ignored her orders? Could he afford to ignore her? Would she let it slide, or would this be enough to move against him?

 “Wow. You’re really considering letting Mommy Dearest down?” Sebastian asked, as if he had read Kurt’s thoughts. “The Slayer really has you whipped, hasn’t he?”

 “That’s ridiculous,” Kurt growled. No matter how often he heard that style of insult, it never failed to ruffle his feathers.

 Sebastian sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Sorry, I know it’s not like that.” The old smirk returned. “Obviously, it’s our dear little siren that did the whipping.”

 If vampires needed breath, Kurt would have loved to strangle the smug bastard where he stood.

 “I’m trying to leave Isabelle and her silly little wars behind me,” he said instead. “Why would I want to be dragged back in?”

 Maybe he could get away with this again. Isabelle couldn’t touch him here. He didn’t really want to help steal artefacts for a demon right under the Slayer’s nose. Not that they were friends or anything... But he had just gotten comfortable working with them. Besides, there was Blaine – they actually were friends, and Kurt had promised to be there for him. How could he turn away now, in order to conspire with Sebastian of all people?

 Kurt shuddered internally as he realized what path he was about to take. He was about to completely turn away from his master, and that would probably mean throwing himself at the Slayer’s mercy. The mere thought felt insulting.

 Sebastian was watching him with an expression somewhere between bemusement and skepticism.

 “She expected you to be hesitant,” he said. “And she has one more message.”

 “What would that be?” Kurt asked warily.

 “The thing you saw. The vision she showed you. Help her, or it will come true.” Sebastian raised an eyebrow. “Any idea what she meant by that?” 

Kurt could feel the cold grip of fear around his heart. That vision…

 After Sebastian’s last visit, Kurt had left to build his uneasy truce with Isabelle. She had shown him that one vision… what had she said? That, which would destroy him. It had been a cold cave he had entered, and through the darkness, he had seen it… another stony room, similar to the Brotherhood’s lair. And on the floor, Blaine, his eyes wide and lifeless, the skin impossibly pale, his chest torn open, his precious blood in a pool around him…

 It had ceased to haunt him the way it had for the first weeks. Blaine had grown stronger in his absence, with the way he had fought back against later threats, like the Sisters, or even how he had resisted the trickster demon tonight.

 And now, with one remark, the vision was right back at the forefront of his mind.

 “What is that supposed to mean?” Kurt managed to ask. “Is she going to make it happen?”

 “She didn’t go not detail,” Sebastian said. “Damn, now I really wish I had dug further. What did she show you?”

 Just how would helping with this mission stop the vision from coming true? Would Isabelle send others to aid Sebastian? Would one of them be the one to kill Blaine? Maybe she would even send someone to do it, as a punishment for Kurt’s hesistance … There were millions of possibilities. And all he had to go on was Isabelle’s word.

 He couldn’t risk it.

 “If I do this,” he said softly, “it has to be the end.”

 Sebastian frowned. “Are you seriously not telling me what this is all about?”

 “Isabelle can not bring this up again,” Kurt said. “If I do this last thing, she cannot command me around anymore.”

 “I doubt that’s going to work,” Sebastian said with a shrug. “But sure, I’ll tell her. So, does this mean you’re in?”

 Kurt closed his eyes, weighing his next words. It was a mistake, as soon as his lids closed, he could see the vision again as clear as that night. Sighing, he opened his eyes again. His heart heavy, and with the vague feeling he would regret this, he nodded.

 “I’m in.”

 

* * *

  

Sunnydale at night was one of the least safe places in the world, and especially for a mortal, walking through the cemetery was as good as a death wish. Even with all the slaying going on, the hell mouth just attracted too many demons. But there were different levels of danger for different kinds of people. On the “Risky” side of the scale, there were clueless teenage girls – for being clueless – and Blaine, which didn’t need further explanation.

 The mortal approaching Kurt’s refuge right now was the literal opposite end of that scale.

 It was random chance that had Kurt look outside, just in time to see the tall human approaching. He barely had enough time to stuff Sebastian into the closet, when the door opened.

 “Sometimes I wish your kind needed an invitation,” Kurt said, trying to hide his nervousness under sarcasm.

 “It’s not like I’m a danger for you. If I wanted you dusted, you’d be destroyed.”

 It wasn’t the best opening for a guest, but manners probably weren’t as important if you were literally the Chosen One. Well, the current Chosen One.

 “What do you want, Cooper?”

 The slayer looked at the same time out of place and at home in the small cabin, once property of the groundskeeper when Sunnydale still had bothered to employ one. None of them had survived very long, and eventually nobody had been willing to take the job. The cabin had been empty for ages before Kurt had decided to take shelter in it.

 With a sigh, Cooper sat down on the couch. “There’s something we have to discuss.”

 Kurt felt a shudder running down his spine. There weren’t many things that needed to be discussed between him and the slayer. One topic would be an imminent threat of apocalyptic proportions. The other thing, of course, was Blaine. And lately, he hadn’t picked up any rumors concerning the end of the world…

 “What happened?” Kurt asked. He was kind of proud how level his voice sounded.

 “Well, there’s trouble,” Cooper said. “Blaine is safe, though, for a change. In case you were worried.”

 Okay, so probably not as level as he had expected.

 “Then what kind of trouble?” Kurt asked, already less interested.

 “Trouble for you,” Cooper said. “Does the name Will Schuster mean anything to you?”

 Kurt froze.

 “I’ll take that as a yes?” Cooper asked.

 “He’s on the Watchers’ Council, isn’t he?” Kurt said. “A family tradition.”

 “His father mentored one of my predecessors,” Cooper said. “I think her name was Holly. Must have been what, forty years ago? A vampire killed her basically in front of his eyes.”

 Somehow, Kurt almost felt all those years. “I know. I was there.”

 It took a moment until Cooper understood the implication. To his credit, he barely showed it apart from a slight widening of his eyes.

 “Well, that would explain why he hates you,” he said. “She was the Slayer you killed?”

 “That was a long time ago. I was… I barely remember that time. They came after me and my…” He stopped, not sure how to describe them. Friends certainly wasn’t right.

 “Your coven?” Cooper suggested.

 Kurt felt himself bristle. He never would have used this word for the connection he’d had with Hunter and Sebastian.

 …Sebastian. Who was probably also on Schuster’s hit list, and right now in Sunnydale.

 “Why are you bringing up Schuster anyway?” Kurt asked. “He shouldn’t bother you. I doubt the Watchers’ Council would want to mess with Sue’s project.”

 “That’s the problem, that’s exactly what they’re doing,” Cooper said, his voice chillingly serious. And when Cooper got serious, that’s when you should start packing. “The Council isn’t happy with Sue’s work. They tried to bother her before, but back then they sent Roz Washington, and she turned out to be completely power crazy, trying to dig up the Philosopher’s Stone and building her own army of Slayers. It took them some time to try to move against Sue after that.”

 Kurt frowned. “And Schuster is the one doing it?”

 Cooper shrugged. “I don’t think he’s really the driving force. He’s just the person they chose as their weapon right now.”

 “What kind of weapon?”

 “He’s infamous for being extremely suspicious towards supernatural creatures. Not that you can blame him, with that family history…” He shot a side glance at Kurt. “And I guess he somehow heard about _you_ being in Sunnydale. All in all, he’s decided to pay us a visit.”

 Kurt frowned. “To what purpose?”

 “An inspection,” Cooper said. For someone usually so cheerful, he sounded almost bitter.

 “He wouldn’t fake an inspection just to catch me,” Kurt said.

 “Not just for that, probably,” Cooper agreed. “Though it would make a nice bonus. No, there are many points. The Council isn’t happy with Sue’s methods. They think it’s a mistake to build a network, like I have. Working with witches is also not something they’re happy about. And not only have we been working with Quinn, she’s basically taught Tina and dragged her into witchcraft.”

 “I think I remember Tina dogging her for weeks to become her apprentice,” Kurt said frowning.

“Yeah, not how they see it,” Cooper said. “Then there’s Santana and her pseudo-Slayer powers, which is also something the Council doesn’t approve of.”

 “Forget that the whole thing was Roz’s fault,” Kurt said.

 “And don’t get them started on Brittany,” Cooper said, “who so obviously is a spy to the Faery Queen.”

 “She’s an outcast and they just deigned not to kill her,” Kurt said.

 “She’s a faery, do you really think Schuster cares about details?” Cooper asked. “And then, of course, there’s you.”

 “Me existing?”

 “No, you helping us,” Cooper said. “I guess that must have somehow trickled through to the Council. So now Schuster is inspecting our work. It’s not looking good so far.”

 “What can they really do to you?” Kurt asked. “You’re the Slayer. You saved the world half a dozen times. You averted the actual apocalypse. Why would they want to turn against you?”

 “It’s politics,” Cooper said. “And they’re not quite against me, but they’re firmly against Sue.”

 “She _is_ an acquired taste,” Kurt said.

 “She’s the reason I’m still alive,” Cooper said. “And I won’t sit around and listen to her being insulted for that. Just as I won’t listen to Schuster tear people to pieces who’ve had my back through everything. I don’t want to hear a word about Quinn, or Blaine, or heck, even you. He doesn’t understand a thing!”

 “Wait, Blaine? He’s not supernatural,” Kurt protested.

 Cooper rolled his eyes. “Don’t you know? Sometimes, vampires use blood connections to their victims to control them, so basically anybody who was ever bitten by a vampire should be treated like they an be used as a wiretap by vampires. And since you bit him…”

 “He can’t be serious!” Kurt exclaimed.

 “I mean, they probably don’t actually think that, but they do consider him compromised. Of course, it doesn’t help that he gets easily defensive when others are attacked.”

 “Like who?” Kurt asked.

 Cooper shrugged. “Brittany, Tina, Santana…” He then looked straight into Kurt’s eyes, and for once the vampire had not the slightest clue just what was going through that perfectly coiffed head. “You.”

 It was probably the answer Kurt had wanted to hear, that he might have been fishing for. But somehow, he couldn’t stand to consider it – not when Cooper was looking at him like that, and not when Sebastian was listening in on them. It shouldn’t be surprising. Blaine would defend those he cared for until his last breath. Still…

 “That’s not a smart move,” Kurt said. “He should know Schuster hates me. Why would your brother actively make himself a target?”

 Now, a grin started to form on Cooper’s face. “Now you’re underestimating him. He knows exactly what he’s doing. See, Blaine is human, he found out about this unintentionally, he doesn’t dabble in magic or anything else. Schuster has nothing on him except his alliances and his victimhood. Blaine can take Schuster’s ire better than those who actually have something to lose. And every second Schuster wastes on him is a second he can’t use persecuting our friends.”

 “Friends?” Kurt looked up to Cooper in astonishment.

 The grin turned to a smirk. “Stop fishing. Anyway, now that I’m done complaining, I should get to what I actually came here for. Listen, I need you to keep a low profile for the next few days. If Schuster finds you, you’re dead. I’ll keep you updated about him, but please try not to cross his path. I have no idea what he would plan for you, but it won’t be pretty.”

 “One might actually think you care,” Kurt said, a wry smile on his own lips.

 “I do,” Cooper said. “You’ve helped us enough, and Blaine is fond of you. So, don’t mess it up, will you?”

 Before Kurt could even begin to figure out what that was supposed to mean, Cooper had already left the cottage.

 They really had come far. How long had they been adversaries? And then… grudging allies, acquaintances, enemies again, and then, slowly, not only allies but almost… friends? And now, Kurt was about to risk it all again, only because of a vision and a threat…

 “Cute, looks like big brother approves of you. Play your cards right, he’ll probably pay for the wedding.”

 Kurt rolled his eyes as Sebastian stepped out of the closet. “Mind your own business,” he said.

 “Well, this visit is my business, isn’t?” Sebastian asked, again lounging on the couch. “Another watcher, and one who hates us personally? This might make things more complicated. We still need to find a way to get into the Brotherhood’s lair, and with not only one but two watchers around – one of whom has a personal grudge against the both of us.”

 “Maybe it isn’t meant to be,” Kurt said softly.

 “Don’t even think of it, darling. We’re doing this. It’s just going to be tougher than expected.” Sebastian grinned. “Maybe it’s not even so bad. I mean, how bad can Schuster be? It’s a bit hazy, but I don’t think Schuster senior was much of a challenge.”

 “He didn’t fight us, his slayer did,” Kurt said. He could almost remember the girl’s face, that moment of pain and horror as she realized it was over. Back then, he had felt triumphant. Now, the memory made him almost physically sick.

 “So what, he just watched us kill his slayer and then we let him go?” Sebastian tilted his head, frowning. “That does _not_ sound like us. Or was that your idea? Wasn’t that only a bit before you decided you’d had enough of awesome orgies for a while and wanted to play hermit instead?”

 “Around that time,” Kurt said. Slowly, the timeline came back to him, and now he felt even more nauseous than before.

 “Your boy!” Sebastian suddenly exclaimed. “Now I got it! Your boy showed up and you were so distracted you let the watcher go! What was his name again? Something with D, yeah? Dylan? Davis?”

 “I don’t remember,” Kurt said. “Something with D, yes…”

 “Wait, seriously?” Sebastian asked, staring at him in disbelief. “I thought he was important to you. You even left our wonderful company for him.” 

It hadn’t been the boy that had made him turn away from Hunter and Sebastian and their way of life – more like what happened to him…

 “I don’t remember much from that time. Just lots and lots of blood.”

 “Oh, please. You even still wear that stupid necklace you took off him,” Sebastian said, smirking. “A vampire, wearing a freaking cross. And now you’re telling me you don’t even remember his name?”

 Kurt’s hand had involuntarily touched the small pouch he was wearing around his neck, keeping the metal of the amulet from touching his skin and burning it. Now that Sebastian put it like that, keeping it seemed even more ridiculous than usual. “The boy who vanished. That’s how I think of him. The boy who vanished.”

 As expected, Sebastian rolled his eyes. “How perfectly melodramatic,” Sebastian said.

 “He’d always show up when I needed him,” Kurt said. “Out of nowhere, there he’d be. And out of nowhere, he’d vanish again. He saw me at my lowest, at my worst… but he believed in me. It was nice, to have that…”

 There hadn’t been many people who had believed in him like that. Before the boy who vanished, there’d only been his parents. And afterwards… for so many years, there had been nobody, not until another boy had stepped into his life, until another pair of hazel eyes had slowly started to look at him as if he actually was worth saving, worth believing in.

 “Was he hot?” Sebastian interrupted, throwing Kurt off his nostalgic thoughts. “He was your first, wasn’t he?” Sebastian interrupted.

 “He was most importantly none of your business,” Kurt replied, glaring at the other vampire.

 “Whatever,” Sebastian said. “And you didn’t answer the question.”

 For some reason, Kurt still felt compelled to answer this. “I don’t remember what he looked like.”

 “Ouch, good thing he’s dead, or that would be quite the blow,” Sebastian said. “But seriously, you must know something.”

 “I don’t know what to tell you,” Kurt replied. “But the truth is… every time I try to remember what he looks like, all I can think of is the face of… Someone else,” he finished lamely.

 For a second, Sebastian frowned, then an even wider smirk appeared on his face. “Oh, I see. Does our dearest little siren know you mix him up with your dead ex?”

 “He’s not… I’m not…” Kurt glared at Sebastian with outrage, not sure which part of that awful statement he wanted to refute first.

 It didn’t matter, Sebastian was already laughing. “You’re kind of pathetic, you know that? You spent how many decades filling the streets – and our throats – with blood, but you’re still hung up on your ridiculous fairy tales. What kind of vampire are you, anyway?”

 Kurt frowned. What kind of vampire was he? A vampire who tried not to murder. One who chose to work with the Slayer against his own kind. One who threw his lot in with humans. A vampire in love with a human.

 Ultimately, a kind of vampire that Sebastian would never be able to understand.

 “A new one,” he said eventually. If only he really understood what that meant. “Can we go back to your ridiculous plans now? The sooner you leave, the better.”

 “You wound me,” Sebastian said in absolute deadpan. “Now, here’s what I’ve been thinking…”

* * *

 


	2. Chapter 2

The more he learned about the Watchers’ Council, the more doubts Blaine had about that institution. So far, he yet had to meet one Watcher who wasn’t completely insane.

If Cooper didn’t think so much of Sue, he would never trust the woman. Then there was the whole business with Roz Washington. And now, there were the Schusters. To be fair, Emma seemed nice enough, although her deer-in-the-headlight looks made him doubt how well she’d be able to actually fight the forces of darkness.

 And then, there was Will Schuster.

 Maybe at some point, Schuster had been in this to protect humans. Maybe his purpose had always been twisted by his father’s stories. Whatever the case, the Will Schuster who had come to Sunnydale now was certainly not a Watcher to keep humanity safe. No, Blaine was certainly, all he cared about was to get his revenge on all demons. And unfortunately, the demon he most wanted revenge on, happened to be Kurt.

 And Sebastian, he reminded himself. Another thing to worry about.

 Technically, the current meeting in Sue’s office was only supposed to be Cooper and the Watchers, but Blaine didn’t have the heart to leave his brother alone with them. So here he was, sinking back into Sue’s surprisingly comfortable couch, letting Schuster drone on and on about the need to destroy monsters instead of befriending them.

 Blaine remembered hostage situations more entertaining than this. He was almost relieved when his phone started ringing. To his surprise, Cooper’s was going off too.

 He checked to see it was Tina calling.

 “Look outside!” she yelled, immediately when he answered. “What the hell is that?”

 “I’m not at a window, Tina,” Blaine said.

 “The lights! It looks like polar lights. What’s going on there?” Tina asked.

 “I’m with Cooper, I’ll check it out,” he said. “Stay inside, sounds dangerous.”

 “Something’s going on,” Cooper said. “That was Santana, there’s some sort of light phenomenon over the cemetery. Brittany thinks it’s faery light, or at least an imitation of it.”

 “We should check it out,” Blaine said, even as a shudder went down his spine. He did not like dealing with faeries, not after being cursed by one and possessed by another…

 “We will,” Sue agreed, “we as in these two clowns and Charming, the Elder. Little Lord Fauntleroy here is not coming. We’ll have enough on our hands without a fae magnet.”

 Blaine blushed, although this time he didn’t really find it in him to protest.

 “You’re going back home,” Cooper said. “Santana will be there, making sure you don’t get in trouble. Or do you want her to pick you up here?”

 “I’ll get back to our house alone, thanks,” Blaine said, rolling his eyes. “Just… be careful.”

 He followed them outside, where Sue crowded everyone into her ridiculous monster of a jeep. Blaine wasn’t quite sure why she needed that thing in Sunnydale, but he had never dared questioning her.

 Looking up at the sky, he could see what Tina had meant. Polar lights, indeed – with maybe a bit too much green in it. Hopefully it wasn’t actually the fae. Last time, they hadn’t been out for conquest. If they were…

 A shudder went down his spine. But suddenly, he realized it had nothing to do with the lights, or a possible fae attack. It was different. There was something in the air, making his skin prick and the hair at the back of his neck stand up. Maybe he was paranoid. Maybe he only felt it because he had been expecting this for weeks. Either way, he wasn’t surprised at the soft chuckle.

 “All alone, killer?”

 Blaine tried to suppress an eyeroll, before he turned around, to find just the vampire he had expected lounging against the window.

 “Sebastian. Why am I not surprised?” he asked.

 “You’re not?”

 Blaine shrugged. “You’ve gone off the grid weeks ago, and now Will Schuster shows up here. Not that hard to make the connection.”

 The smirk on Sebastian’s face got even wider. “You’ve been keeping tabs on me,” he said. “I’m impressed.”

 “Sure you are,” Blaine said, and this time his eye-roll was obvious. “What do you want?”

 The vampire frowned. “A hello would be nice.”

 Blaine snorted. “Okay. _Hello_ , Sebastian. What do you want?”

 Sebastian came a few steps closer. “Dangerous question,” he said. “There are a lot of things I want.”

 “And if you come one step closer, I’ll roast you with holy oil,” Blaine replied.

 There were still a few feet between them, when Sebastian stopped. The raised eyebrow was a clear challenge. They both knew that if he really wanted to, he’d have Blaine incapacitated before he could even think of using a weapon. But they both also knew, he wouldn’t.

 “I don’t remember you this fierce,” Sebastian said. “I think I like it.”

 “I’m so glad,” Blaine said drily. “But what are you doing in Sunnydale? You know Schuster is here and that he wants to kill the both you and Kurt. Why are you making it easier for him by staying together?” He didn’t know that for certain, of course, but it was a safe assumption.

 “Well, I’d rather stay with you, but I doubt you’d invite me in,” Sebastian said.

 Blaine knew better than to invite a vampire into his home, of course. He had found out first-hand what an awful idea that was. Although lately, he had wondered… But no. Cooper would kill him. Literally.

 …okay, so maybe figuratively.

 “You guys are presenting yourselves on a silver platter,” Blaine said, a frown on his face.

 “Careful, one might get the idea you actually care about me,” Sebastian said.

 “And one would be wrong,” Blaine said. “I care about Kurt.”

 It felt like an admission, one he certainly wasn’t ready for. It was difficult enough to figure out just how deep his feelings for his friend went. “Care” was a very small word, and still the one he could actually say.

 Sebastian was still looking at him. He seemed more serious than Blaine had ever seen him. His eyes were almost piercing, as if he could see right through what Blaine meant with every single word. Surprisingly enough, there wasn’t a hint of mocking as he spoke.  

 “That’s dangerous, you know?” His voice had lost its usual edge, and he almost sounded soft. “Most people who cared about him have died for it.”

 “What would you know about that?” Blaine asked.

 Sebastian seemed to ponder that question himself. “Let’s say he’s not exactly a good luck charm. Most vampires aren’t. But the majority of people who ever were close to Kurt are dead.” He chuckled. “Face it, killer, I’m very likely the person who knows him best.”

 Blaine glared at him. “Not anymore.”

 Sebastian tilted his head. “You _have_ changed,” he said.

 “That’s what Sunnydale does to a boy,” Blaine replied with a shrug. “You lose that wide-eyed naivety and start to scheme like anyone else.”

 “But you’re not like anyone else, are you? There’s something about you. That’s why Kurt is so hung up on this place. Sometimes I think you must be some kind of siren.”

 Blaine shuddered involuntarily. “I met a siren once,” he said. “It wasn’t pleasant.”

 “Broke its heart, didn’t you?” Sebastian guessed.

 “Well, Cooper put a stake through it,” Blaine replied, the warning to the vampire barely hidden. “Either way, you should not be here. It’s too dangerous.”

 “You do worry,” Sebastian said, smirking again.

 “About Kurt,” Blaine said. “You’re endangering him. That’s why I’ve kept tabs on you. I know you guys have a past, but it’s over. I will not watch you drag him back into this, do you understand. I know you were his friend. But he’s changed, and you… you’re not good for him.”

 Sebastian scoffed. “And you are?”

 The question shouldn’t have hit him the way it did. “I think I am,” he said eventually. Kurt cared about him – even if that word probably meant something else for him. And he had changed even more since they had become friends. By now, Kurt joined them more often than not, helping them fight other demons. He was truly turning into a good vampire, if such a thing existed. And he was happier, less lonely.

 But something in the way Sebastian looked at him told him that the other vampire had a different opinion.

 “Do you think I’m bad for him?” Blaine asked incredulously.

 Sebastian looked at him for a long time, as if he was pondering whether to speak or not. Eventually, he sighed. “Think about it, killer. You and Kurt… there are only two ways this can end. Option one, and let’s be real, that’s the one that’s going to happen: you die. The closer you are to Kurt, the sooner it will happen, and the higher the chance that he’ll actually witness it. And that? That might just be what breaks him. Like Go-into-the-sun break him. And as charming as you are… I don’t think you’re worth that.”

 Blaine gulped. It wasn’t the first time that he was reminded of his own mortality since he’d come to Sunnydale. That didn’t mean it was a good feeling. “What’s the other option?” he asked.

 That damn smirk was returning again. “The other option is that he turns you. Or maybe gets Isabelle to do it, so you’re a proper vampire.”

 Now it felt as if an invisible hand closed over his throat. “No,” he choked out.

 Sebastian nodded slowly. “You wouldn’t, would you? I figured. You’re not the type.”

 That much Blaine was certain of. He could never be a vampire, couldn’t imagine ever choosing that. Was Sebastian right? Were his feelings for Kurt doomed from the start? Was even his friendship going to be a source of pain eventually? But even if it was, he was too far in now, wasn’t he? As if he could just untangle himself from Kurt.

 “Sorry, killer. You wanted the truth,” Sebastian said, his voice surprisingly soft.

 “I didn’t know you cared about him so much,” Blaine said. “You always seem so aloof.”

 Sebastian shrugged. “I’m used to him,” he said. “And if you’ve lived two centuries, that’s a rare trait in the people around you.” He hesitated, Blaine could see his doubts, but eventually, he sighed. “He had a boy like you once. The boy who vanished.” The quotation marks around the phrase were audible. “It didn’t end well. The boy died. Kurt was at his top form back then, and even then, it changed him. Made him go off on his own. He’s softer now. I’d hate to see what happens when you bite it.” Sebastian’s face was pure melancholy, and Blaine felt it affecting himself. But with the blink of an eye, the expression fell from Sebastian’s face, only to be replaced by the usual smirk.

 “Anyway, I’ve got something to attend to, and I’m sure you have babysitters growing anxious with any second you’re not safely back. So how about we end our little chat here? Maybe I’ll check in on you before I leave. Second balcony on the right, yes?”

 Blaine rolled his eyes. “Stalker,” he muttered. He wasn’t worried. Sebastian couldn’t enter the house without an invitation. And he wasn’t scared of this vampire.

 Sebastian laughed. “I’ll walk you to your car. Would hate for you to get kidnapped on the way.”

 “Careful,” Blaine said, as he followed. “One might think you’d care about me.”

 This time it was Sebastian who chuckled. “Don’t tell anyone. It would ruin my reputation.”

They had reached his car, and Blaine got into the driver’s seat. When he looked around at Sebastian, the vampire looked as if he was to say anything else, something important, something serious. In the end, he sighed again, and looked at Blaine with something almost… fond in his eyes.

 “Blaine… take care.”

 He pushed the car door closed before Blaine could say anything else to this and walked away.

 For a few more seconds he looked after the vampire Just what was that about anyway? Frustrating… Vampires usually weren’t too complicated to figure out. But maybe that was only true for those other, lesser vampires. The spawn. As far as Blaine knew, Kurt and Sebastian were the only demon-created vampires he’d ever met, and he couldn’t see through either of them. Maybe they really had much more in common with each other than he ever would understand.

 But just what did that mean for Kurt and him? Was there even such a thing? Or maybe Sebastian had a point…

 With a sigh, he put the car into drive. No matter how right or wrong Sebastian was about Kurt, he was certainly right about Santana throwing a fit if he wasted any more time. It was time to go home.

 

* * *

 

“What the hell was that, Smythe?!”

 The bastard actually had the audacity to laugh. “Oh, darling, jealousy does not suit you.”

 But Kurt didn’t have patience to listen to his insufferable deflections. “You basically walked up to Blaine and told him you’re back? While there’s a Watcher inspection in town? He’ll think we’re up to something.”

 Sebastian rolled his eyes. “He thought that anyway, you know? Besides, I don’t know what your problem is. I did exactly what I was supposed to do. Did you fulfill your part?”

 Kurt showed the key he had taken from Sue’s office. Luckily, her hiding place hadn’t been much better than Roz’s had been back then. What was it about Watchers and not taking proper care with the Brotherhood’s secrets? Although that was not the topic right now.

 “You were supposed to distract the Slayer and Watchers – without showing your face by the way – so I could get the key. You were not supposed to try and seduce his brother!”

 “I did distract them,” Sebastian replied. “I made a deal with St. James to organize some fireworks to distract the watchers. It’s not my fault that our dear little siren stayed back, so I had to… distract him, too. I guess you wouldn’t want _him_ of all people to catch you digging through Sylvester’s stuff. His faith in you might never recover.”

 The other vampire’s voice was laced in sarcasm. He didn’t need to know that this was exactly what Kurt was afraid of. The opinion of one person shouldn’t mean so much to him, he knew that. But there was something inside him that lit up every time Blaine looked at him with faith, trust… He didn’t want to lose that look.

 More importantly, he would not stand to be replaced by Sebastian of all people, who after all this time still was an unrepentant killer. He had only seen the end of their interaction, how Sebastian had accompanied the boy to his car, made sure he’d get home safe. It was not only unusual for Sebastian to show any consideration, but what made Kurt almost nauseous was how calm Blaine had accepted the gesture, had even bantered with Sebastian.

 So maybe he was jealous.

 “I honestly don’t know what your problem is,” Sebastian said. “Why are you worried anyway? You know I don’t do attachment. I see, I eat, I leave. And even I’m smarter than to snack on the Slayer’s kid brother. You’re the one who falls in love.”

 “Shut up!”

 “What? Isn’t that what happened with your vanishing boy?” Sebastian asked. “Didn’t end too well for him. If you’re so worried about our dear little siren, you should be more concerned with yourself than me.”

 “Blaine is different,” Kurt said, gritting the words through his teeth. He wasn’t even sure if it was true. He didn’t remember enough about the boy who vanished to really compare Blaine to him. But there was one thing that was different, and that was Kurt himself. He had changed, he had grown. Blaine would not share the same fate. He’d rather go into the sun.

 “Sure it’s different,” Sebastian said. “Face it, darling. We’re sharks. And once we’ve tasted the blood…”

 There was something all too knowing in his face.

 “I didn’t… I… that’s not how I see him,” he said weakly.

 “But you did taste his blood, didn’t you?” Sebastian asked.

 Kurt stared at him, not sure how to respond to that. A few words were enough to bring back the rush of excitement. Blood always had this kind of effect, but the intensity had shocked him even back then. It had been portent enough that just the memory made his mouth run dry. No other blood had been this powerful, this exciting. Not since that first time, the first blood he’d ever tasted.

 But again, Blaine would not meet the boy’s fate.

 “How do you even know about this?” Kurt asked.

 Sebastian rolled his eyes. “What do you think? He told me.”

 “Why would he do that?”

 “I guess we just have a special connection. Or maybe he’s not as traumatized as you think. The little siren isn’t nearly as much a damsel in distress as you make him out to be.”

 “Stop it,” Kurt hissed. “Stop acting like you know everything. You don’t understand a thing about Blaine. You’re not capable of it. So stay away from him. I mean it.”

 Sebastian rolled his eyes, but he still looked vaguely triumphant, as if he had somehow won something. Maybe it was about riling Kurt up. Or maybe it was, because deep down, he was doubtful. Blaine surprised him again and again, whereas Sebastian acted as if the boy was all but transparent.

 Kurt sighed. He would definitely get more rest once Sebastian was out of his town, hopefully out of his life.  The time was approaching. This would be over soon.

 

* * *

 

It might have been easier to use the key immediately when everybody was already distracted, but it had been at Sebastian’s insistence – or rather, Isabelle’s orders – that it had to be the next full moon. Fortunately, the fake threat of a faery invasion had been really effective in distracting the Watchers the first time. Enough for them, to pay another visit to Jesse St. James.

The magician had not been enthusiastic about helping them. But he had agreed, eventually. With the Slayer and his gang distracted, they finally had the opportunity to make their way deep down under Sunnydale’s Community Collage and into the lair of the Brotherhood.

This was a part that Kurt didn’t remember from his earlier sojourns down here. He had seen it on Roz’s map, but hadn’t paid it much attention once the Slayer and his gang had found out the only entrance had been lost to a cave-in. Only now, he had intel from Isabelle, directing him to another passage leading there. It was only his vampire eyes that allowed him to see where they were going, to notice and appreciate the art on the walls – intricate carvings with just hints of former color, depicting what he assumed were scenes from Greek mythology. It was fascinating, and it would have been much more interesting to him if he wasn’t on a mission for his estranged demon lord with Sebastian as company, all while abusing the Slayer’s trust and under the nose of a watcher with a personal grudge against the both of them.

 Really, there were more than enough reasons for him not to care about the artwork.

 The narrow corridor opened into a round chamber. They entered through one of twelve doorways, each of which led to another corridor leaving the center. There were busts over each of them, depicting different characters.

 “Where to now?” he asked.

 Sebastian stepped in beside him, frowning. “Chronos,” he said. “God of time.”

 “Which one is that?” Kurt asked.

 Sebastian rolled his eyes. “And you pretend to have an education,” he said. “Over there. Two o’clock.”

 Kurt looked at the bust of an old, bearded man, holding a scythe, and framed by wings. He wasn’t quite sure how it connected to time, but Sebastian was the one who’d been instructed by Isabelle.

 He hurried to follow Sebastian, walking behind him into the corridor, and it felt as if he’d run against a wall. The air itself seemed to turn against him, trying to repel him. For once, he needed to use his vampire strength only to move forward.

 “What the…”

 “Time,” Sebastian said. “I guess it’s slower here.”

 “Can we make it through?”

 Sebastian shrugged. “Good thing about being immortal, time isn’t of that much importance, is it?”

 “I don’t want to be stuck here until Schuster finds us, thank you very much,” Kurt gritted through his teeth.

 “Then stop whining and get a move on.”

 Sebastian too, was moving much slower than Kurt had ever seen him. But he didn’t seem as distressed as Kurt himself felt. Still, complaining wouldn’t do them any good. Using all his strength, he pushed through, and after a moment, the pressure against him seemed to lessen. Before he knew it, the corridor opened into another room.

 It looked like some sort of tomb. There was a sarcophagus in the middle, surrounded by different statues. At the head of the Sarcophagus, there was what Kurt assumed to be a statue of Chronos himself, at least compared to the bust that had led them here. In the right hand, there was a scythe. The left hand, held a small wand. This was what Sebastian approached.

 “That’s it?” Kurt asked.

 “Apparently,” Sebastian said. While his smirk was triumphant, his voice sounded hesitant, as if he was waiting for the other shoe to drop. At least that was what Kurt felt like.

 Sebastian walked closer to the statue. After just a moment hesitation, he reached out – and plucked the wand right out of the stone. Kurt slowly came closer, waiting for some trap to spring. But nothing happened.

 “That’s it?” Sebastian echoed the earlier question.

 “This was… easy,” Kurt said.

 “Too easy,” Sebastian said, frowning. “No offense, darling, but why exactly did I absolutely have to bring you along for this? I could have managed stealing a key without your help, you know?”

 “Then why didn’t you?” Kurt hissed. “Do you think I want to be here?”

 “Hey, Isabelle’s orders, not my idea.” Sebastian shook his head. “What a waste. I hope this thing is at least powerful.”

 Curious, Kurt reached out and touched the wand. Wouldn’t that be the most ridiculous thing, they went and recovered a wand – only to find out it wasn’t what they’d been looking for? But the second his fingers touched the ivory, he could feel a surge of power blasting through his blood.

 Yes. This was indeed what they’d been looking for.

 “It does seem too easy,” Kurt agreed, frowning. This wasn’t like Isabelle. What would her motive be to send him here?

 Either way, he wouldn’t find it out standing here.

 “Come on,” he said. “We’re getting out of the lair, and then I believe you were going to get out of this town. And my life.”

 “Sure,” Sebastian said, with a grin, “right after that date. You know, I promised the siren to visit him at some point.”

 “Don’t even think about it,” Kurt snarled.

 Sebastian had to gall to laugh. “God, you’re so easy to rile up.”

 “Whatever,” Kurt muttered, leading the way. This time, when he entered the corridor, he was ready for the higher resistance – but it was gone.

 “What is it now?” Kurt asked.

 “The wand,” Sebastian said. “It gets us across, I can feel it.”

 Kurt wasn’t quite sure why it would do that, but Sebastian could probably sense a difference in the wand’s magic. Either way, he didn’t care much about it. He sooner he’d get out of this place, the sooner he’d be rid of Sebastian.

 When they left the corridor, it almost felt as if they were thrown out of it. Kurt turned back, a curious look for a curious corridor. Sebastian, who had left the corridor after him, stopped – not moving forward, not looking back either. The expression on his face had shifted subtly, but Kurt could still read him. Whatever he was seeing behind Kurt, they were very likely to be screwed.

 “Now look what we have here.”

 Kurt shuddered at the sheer ice in the voice. He didn’t have to turn around to know just who had followed them down here. It had to be Will Schuster.

 He turned around anyway, and for a second, he wished he hadn’t.

 It wasn’t just Will Schuster. Beside him was a waifish red-head he didn’t recognize, but with them, there were several faces he knew just too well. The eternal snarl of Sue Sylvester. Sam staring at him in disbelief. The anger and betrayal glaring at him from Tina and Santana. Brittany smiling distracted into nothing. Cooper, trying not to let pain and betrayal show.

 And Blaine, his face painted less in disappointment, but rather… resignation?

 He really wished he hadn’t turned around.

 “Two rats trying to infiltrate the Brotherhood. I was wondering what you were after. But an artefact of Chronos… Even you should be smarter than that,” Schuster said.

 “Sorry, who are you?” Sebastian asked. His voice sounded bored, almost convincing, but it managed to break the triumphant, patronizing look on Schuster’s face.

 “How did you find us?” Kurt asked. He kept his gaze firmly on Cooper’s face. He couldn’t bear looking at Blaine right now.

 “You should know better than to put your trust in Jesse St. James,” the slayer replied. “He couldn’t rat you out fast enough. I guess he thought it would put him back into our good graces, after that stunt with the faery lights.”

 “Fat chance,” Tina muttered.

 “We’ll deal with the warlock later,” Schuster said. “For now, it’s time to get rid of the both of you. How kind of you, serving yourselves on a silver platter like this.”

 Sebastian chuckled beside him. “Got me there, killer.”

 Schuster just looked confused, but Kurt couldn’t stop himself from looking to the actual recipient of the comment. And now he’d done it. Eye contact.

 “Why?” Blaine asked.

 There were reasons, of course. But somehow, Kurt doubted any of them would be able to convince Blaine to overlook this betrayal. He still had to try.

 “It’s Isabelle. It’s a chance to finally get away from her control for good,” he said. The vision resurfaced from his mind again. _It’s to protect you_. But how was he supposed to explain that?

 “Demon Lord Isabelle. You’re planning to bring an artefact of Chronos to a demon lord?” Schuster asked. “Keep digging, vampire. We will end you here.”

 “Slow down,” Cooper said. “I agree about Smythe, but I do think Hummel has earned a chance to explain himself. He helped us stop Starchild.”

 “He’s a monster!” Schuster yelled. “He’s a murderer. He killed Holly in front of my father’s eyes, he killed countless humans over decades, and I’m sorry, but one good deed doesn’t erase his past. Nothing can. It’s time he pays for his sin. How many decades has he managed to escape justice? It’s enough. It ends tonight. I will end it.”

 “There’s such a thing as second chances,” Blaine said.

 “Not for demons,” Schuster replied. “Get in line, boy. What does it concern you?”

 Now the waif was talking. “Well, the regulations the Watchers’ Council put up about the integration of supernatural beings into the forces of light are quite strict and the application process-“

 “There will be no application, Emma!” Will yelled at her. “Why are we talking? We need to destroy them! There’s no way they can defeat us.”

 As much as Kurt disliked the man, he realized that Schuster had a point there. Three watchers, basically two slayers, a fairy and a witch were against him, with only Sebastian on his side, as well as the very real risk of Blaine getting caught in any crossfire – because really, like there was a chance that wasn’t going to happen.

 This would not end pretty. Cooper had the right idea if he wanted to defuse the situation.

 And still, the redhead was talking. “Well, obviously this isn’t the time for an application process, and I don’t think allying with a known red target of the council is going to help his case, but don’t you think in this case we should consider things? I mean, the Chosen One is speaking for him…”

 “We can get rid of Smythe now and decide about the other one later,” Sue said. “Either way, I’d prefer we don’t have the discussion in the hall of twelve gods.”

 “Not our deal, princess,” Sebastian muttered, so low that only Kurt could hear him.

 This was obvious. If they didn’t make it out of here, if Sebastian didn’t leave Sunnydale with the wand, then he lost his chance to be rid of Isabelle. And whatever she had meant by his vision coming true…

 His eyes flickered to Blaine, and the boy met his gaze head-on, before he turned to look at the vampire beside him.

 “Sebastian, please. Let’s just… stop. Give us the wand, let’s pretend this never happened.” The plea sounded passionate, and Kurt wasn’t sure why it was so painful.

 To his surprise, Sebastian actually looked a bit conflicted, but eventually he shook his head. “Sorry, killer. Not this time. We’re leaving with this wand. I have too much depending on this.”

 For the first time, Kurt wondered just why Sebastian was doing this. He had just assumed he was following orders. Or was Isabelle holding something over his head as well?

 “You’re not going anywhere,” Schuster yelled. His arm moved, as if he was throwing something. And then, the world disappeared into searing light.

 Alchemist fire, his brain provided, one of the more sophisticated weapons the Watcher’s council had come up with. Sunlight in a can. Beside him, he heard cursing and something pulled him back. He couldn’t see a thing, the light had blinded him completely, but he knew it had to be Sebastian pulling him back, probably back to the corridor.

 There was another splash, and then Kurt felt the heat behind him.

 Holy oil. Burning. Schuster must have thrown it at the corridor, and Chronos’ magic had stopped it from entering.

 More cursing, and Sebastian’s arms pulled him in another direction, away from the burning. Opening his eyes, he could see a shadow coming down on him. There was screaming, he could definitely make out Blaine’s voice, but even closer Schuster’s voice screaming at him to die.

 Sebastian roared beside him, and then…

 A crack of thunder.

 For a second, all the light that had blinded him disappeared, leaving complete darkness around him. Then, he could see again. In the hall of the twelve gods, the scoobie gang was scrambling backwards, as a beam of darkness rose in the middle of the hall. Confused, Kurt looked to his side – where Sebastian was standing, holding up the wand. Dark flashes connected it to the thing in the middle of the room. And then, the beam changed, widening, rotating, like a huge black and purple twister.

 Kurt gasped.

 The vortex.

 He was here. Somehow, impossibly, against all odds and everything Kurt had ever learned, he was here.

 “Stand back!” Sebastian yelled at the Slayer’s gang. “Come on, Hummel, we’re leaving!”

 But Kurt wasn’t listening to him. Slowly, as if he was in a trance, he walked closer to the vortex. He almost thought he could see the silhouette of someone flying around inside. It had to be him. The vortex had brought him into Kurt’s life, again, and again, and again – until it hadn’t. Until the boy had died.

 Had he?

 There was only one way to find out.

 He ignored the voices yelling at him. Sebastian especially started to sound hysterical, warning him to come closer. But no. This was his biggest regret. If there was a chance to get him back, to make up for it…

 Then maybe there was hope for Blaine as well.

The vortex was in front of him, the silhouette now clear to see. It seemed to be calling to him, calling for help…. Kurt raised his hand, and then-

 Something crashed into him, the surprise enough to knock him off his feet. As he fell, he could see it was Blaine, pushing him away from the vortex. The boy’s face was pale, his eyes wide and panicked, and he was about to fall onto him.

 Kurt wanted to raise his arms, shielding Blaine from the upcoming impact. And then, his heart fell. The vortex seemed to be reaching out. But it wasn’t going for Kurt. Tendrils of black and purple wrapped around Blaine’s body.

 He was screaming. They both were. There was a cacophony of screams. Cooper, Sebastian, Blaine…

 And then, Blaine was dragged away from his arms, disappearing into the vortex, still screaming.

 The vortex collapsed, and the hall was filled with booming silence.

 Kurt looked up. Sebastian’s face was stunned in shock. Cooper was paler than Kurt had ever seen him. Even Santana seemed speechless. As for the watchers… the redhead looked close to tears, whereas both Sue and Schuster shared a look Kurt couldn’t read.

 It didn’t matter. None of it mattered.

 Blaine was gone. Like the boy who vanished before him, Blaine was gone.

 Kurt’s legs were too weak to stand. The silent heart in his chest felt like a stone, weighing him down. The one thing he had hoped to prevent… now he had caused it.

 It was Cooper who spoke first.

 “Where did you send my brother?”

 “He’s gone,” Schuster yelled. “This was an artefact of Chronos. It ages humans within seconds, making them wither and turn to dust. Your brother is dead. We could have destroyed them, but no. You had to hesitate with your eternal love for monsters. Too bad Blaine had to pay the price. Let’s kill them before someone else has to.”

 “Not so fast,” Sebastian spoke. Kurt was surprised to see he seemed genuinely shaken, although probably nobody else would be able to tell. Wouldn’t that be funny, that now of all times it turned out they had something in common? Now, that it was pointless? But for some reason the meerkat was still talking. “Chronos has more than one trick, and that was not withering. That was a transport.”

 “Kurt?” Cooper said, as if asking for a confirmation.

 Him, he had to answer.

 “It’s a transporting vortex,” Kurt said. “I’ve seen one like it. The… the boy who vanished. He was always taken by that vortex.”

  “Who?”

 “The boy… I don’t remember his name. David, I think. But the vortex, it appeared in different points in time. You can’t summon it though… it’s… he’s gone…”

 “Gone yes. Dead? I don’t think so,” Sebastian said.

 Kurt looked up at him sharply. Was he bluffing, trying to stop the Slayer and his crew from killing them right where they stood? Or was there just a hint of a chance that Blaine could be saved?

 “You don’t know that,” Schuster said. “And you deserve to die.”

 “Shut up!” Cooper yelled. “As long as there’s the slightest chance that my brother is still alive, nobody is killing anybody.”

 “Besides, nobody has studied the twelve gods as much as Isabelle. Can you really reject two of her students when you try to crack their secrets?” Sebastian added.

 Finally, Sue Sylvester spoke. “Your hides are safe for now, sparklepires. Ceasefire until we got little Aladdin back in our fold. Then we’ll decide what to do with you. Either way, we should return up to the headquarter.”

 Cooper nodded. The mere chance that Blaine could be retrieved seemed to give him a second wind.

 “And when we’re there, you’re telling me everything about that boy who vanished.”

 

* * *

 

 Blaine wasn’t sure just how things had gotten this out of control. One second, they had been in a standoff, trying to find a peaceful solution. The next second holy oil had been flung, and then Sebastian had activated the wand. And Kurt…

 He didn’t know why Kurt would just walk up to what was obviously a harmful magical phenomenon. Maybe he’d had a good reason for it. But all Blaine knew in that moment was that the person he l… cared for, was about to make a possibly fatal mistake. He’d been running around the vortex before he’d made a conscious decision, tackling Kurt to the ground and away from it. He thought it would be enough, that he had made it in time…

 And then, something had dragged him away, Kurt  trying to hold onto him, and then…

 Chaos.

 He was surrounded by black and purple haze, whirling him around as if he’d been sucked up into a twister. Every second made him feel worse, dizzy, as if he was going to be sick any moment now. He tried to call out for Kurt, for Cooper… but they didn’t answer. It was loud too, like a storm howling around him.

 Through it all, he thought he heard another voice, very faintly, calling for him.

 And just like that, it stopped. The howling was gone, the haze disappeared…

 Blaine was falling, and then hit a surprisingly hard surface. He gasped, even as he felt himself sink. Stinging, burning, brutal water filled his lung, and he panicked. His body was shaken by convulsions. He tried to get away, his limbs flailing in the water around him. How had he ended up in water? He had to get to the surface, had to swim, find land… He opened his eyes, vague light above him. He had to get there…

 A body appeared before him, and suddenly there were arms around him, pulling him up. His head broke the surface and once more, he gasped for breath, trying to coordinate his arms and legs enough not to sink again. It ended up as more flailing

 “Hold still!” a voice screamed into his ears.

 His whole body went limp in an instance. The panic was new, unusual, but he knew the voice. He was too far in, not to listen to it. In spite of his instincts going haywire, he trusted completely. He was safe.

 Kurt was here. He would be alright.

 With an arm slung around his waist, Blaine felt himself being dragged through the water. Disoriented as he was after that… thing, it seemed like an eternity until his feet touched ground, and then he was pulled up and laid down on muddy ground.

 His body started coughing, but eventually, he calmed down. Looking up, he saw Kurt beside him. The vampire looked more concerned than he’d ever seen him – and really, that said a lot. Framed by dripping wet hair and clothes, he seemed so much younger…

 Blaine looked around, trying to catch a glimpse of Cooper. But to his surprise, he found that neither his brother nor any of his friends was around. Wherever they were, it didn’t look a lot like Sunnydale, really. It looked a bit like the lake near home, back in Ohio…

 “What was that?” Kurt asked beside him. His voice was higher, panic again underlining his tone, and gasps for air interrupting the few words.

 “Magic,” Blaine muttered.

 He took a few more deep breaths, trying to ground himself. So the magic had transported him somewhere else, and Kurt had followed to keep him out of trouble. Well, they could do this. They’d find their way back to Sunnydale, somehow. And hey, maybe it wasn’t the worst thing that could happen to them. Finding their way back home would take some time. It was a chance to talk. About what happened, why Kurt had been working with Sebastian. Maybe about them.

 Yeah. He’d see that as a feature, not a bug.

 “Are you okay?” Kurt asked.

 Blaine looked straight into his eyes. Slowly, his relief over narrowly escaping death started bubbling to the surface, and turned into a broad grin.

 “I am. Guess you saved my life,” he said. “My hero. Though I really should be pissed at you.”

 “Wh-why?” Kurt asked. His eyes were wide, his voice sounded even higher. And somehow, the grin seemed to have flustered him. There was an intense blush on his cheeks. Or maybe that was the strain from swimming. It was endearing. Blaine wasn’t so sure why, but somehow Kurt looked so much younger. Maybe it was that blush, or maybe the water, making his hear glisten in the light…

 The light.

 Sunlight.

 It felt as if Blaine’s heart dropped from his chest, before it started racing. They were outside, in the sunlight. Vampires burned in the sun. On that matter, vampires didn’t blush. Sebastian had made a very explicit point about that. They didn’t get exhausted from swimming, or gasped for breath, either. Actually, they didn’t breathe at all. And Kurt didn’t panic – at least not noticeably.

 He couldn’t stop staring at Kurt,  at the vampire he thought he knew so well. But this… this wasn’t a vampire.  And Kurt hadn’t been human in what, a century? But here he was, not only human, but… younger.

 All optimism had disappeared in this one, simple revelation. And suddenly, it clicked.

 Chronos, Lord of Time.

 Blaine’s voice was shaking, as he finally spoke, the cliché tumbling off his tongue.

 “Kurt… what _date_ is it?”


	3. Chapter 3

* * *

It was impressive just how fast Sue Sylvester’s office could be turned into a watcher’s wet dream. Within five minutes, it looked more like an ancient library than a college cheerleading coach’s office. Tina was surrounded by ancient tomes, the redhead watcher had opened several internet databases and Santana was texting former members of the gang about suggestions and was now waiting to hear from Quinn. Kurt had seen the gang in action many times. But he couldn’t remember them ever being this fast. Or maybe that was just his impression. It seemed as if there was a layer of cobwebs between him and reality.

 It had happened again. The vortex had taken someone he cared about again. And this time, it was all his fault. The boy who vanished… What had happened to him was Kurt’s fault, but he hadn’t been involved in whatever had sucked the boy into the vortex in the first place. Blaine, though… if Kurt hadn’t tried to approach the vortex, desperate for a chance at redemption, then Blaine would not have been dragged into this. Just like he’d never been dragged into the supernatural world, if Kurt hadn’t wanted to reinforce his pride…

 “Hey, princess. Care to pay attention?”

 Kurt flinched at the scathing sound of Sebastian’s voice, only to find that everybody was focused on him. Cooper was in front of him, his blue eyes pure steel.

 “The vortex,” the Slayer said, sounding annoyed as if he was repeating himself. “What do you know about it?”

 “As I said, he’s seen it before,” Sebastian said, when Kurt took to long to answer. “Followed him, apparently. Kurt knew a guy that was held within the vortex.”

 “The boy who vanished,” Kurt said softly. “He’d turn up at different points in my life. Some of them pretty important. Out of nothing, this vortex would build, he’d fall out of it, and it would disappear. But after a while, it would appear again, dragging him away.”

 “Did you figure out what the vortex was exactly?” Tina asked.

 “I… no, I never did. But… there were often years between its appearances,” Kurt said. “I don’t remember much, but I remember him always looking the same.”

 “Maybe…” The red-headed watcher had spoken, but then she stopped, as if scared by the way people were looking at her now.

 “Yes, Emma?” Schuster encouraged her.

 “Maybe if we find out about that boy and what happened to him, then we can use that knowledge to find Cooper’s brother,” she said.

 Cooper frowned at her, as if she was being slow. Then he turned back to Kurt. When he spoke, his voice sounded carefully controlled, although there was tension underneath.

 “Tell us then. That… boy. He always looked the same, you say. So… what did he look like? Tell us about him.”

 Kurt sighed. “I don’t remember. There was too much blood, my memories aren’t what they used to be.”

 “Give me something,” Cooper said. Anger was starting to simmer through the forced calm in his voice. “Hair color. Age. Name!”

 Kurt tried to remember anything. But more than ever before, all he could think of was Blaine. Hazel eyes, dark curls, a honey voice…

 “Dark hair, mid-twenties, not too hard on the eyes, _great_ ass,” Sebastian provided eventually. “I saw him once. But I wasn’t paying that much attention.” He frowned at the looks everybody shot him. “What? Nobody told me back then there’d be a quiz.”

 “I remember more who he was to me. He was like… a conscience,” Kurt explained. “He… believed in me. He always said I could be better… That things would be okay...”

 “And you don’t even remember his name?” Schuster asked. “Then again, I shouldn’t be surprised that you don’t pay too much attention to your conscience.”

 “Something with D,” Kurt said eventually. “David, maybe?” It wasn’t quite right… certainly not enough to find the boy. One boy, born over a century ago, and nothing more to go on than a vague description and a first name that probably wasn’t even accurate?

 He looked up at Cooper, who was staring at him as if he had completely lost his mind.

 “When did you see him the last time?” he asked, his voice strained.

 Kurt closed his eyes, shame washing over him once more. “The night that Holly Holiday died,” he said. “I killed her. I was about to finish her watcher. That’s when he appeared, the last time.”

 “Saved your dad’s life,” Sebastian threw in, addressing Schuster.

 “And what happened to the boy?” Cooper asked. “Did he get dragged into the vortex again?”

 Kurt looked up, meeting Cooper’s eyes. The slayer looked at him almost pleadingly. He seemed almost desperate to hear about the fate of the boy who vanished, his eyes begging Kurt to give him positive news. And this, Kurt didn’t understand. Just because Blaine had ended up in the same place, it didn’t mean that he would share the boys’ fate.

 “What happened?” Cooper repeated.

 Kurt felt as if his voice was stuck in his throat. He couldn’t possibly bring out the words.

 “He wasn’t taken,” Sebastian said. His voice was softer too, as if even he noticed that they were on thin ice, though neither of them really understood why.

 “The boy who vanished… he died that night. There was no vortex to take him away,” Kurt said.

 “Are you positive?” Cooper asked.

 “He died praying,” Kurt said softly.

 “The Hail Mary,” Cooper said. It wasn’t a question.

 Kurt nodded, surprised. How did Cooper know? There _were_ other prayers in the world, right?

 Outwardly, nothing changed. But something about the light in Cooper’s eyes just… faded, as if those words had taken his resolve. As if something inside him just broke.

 “Yes, yes, it was very sad, that was a very unlucky boy,” Sebastian said. “But I have an inkling our dear little siren has better luck. If the vortex has a connection to Kurt, your witches should be able to summon it, and then we can probably drag him back out. Right?”

 Cooper looked at him for a second, but then he shook his head, turning back to Kurt.

 There was something that Cooper knew that Kurt still hadn’t understood yet. Something monumental, that he should have seen by now. For a moment, it seemed as if Cooper expected him to just read it from his stance, from his face, but then he shook his head again in frustration before he spoke.

 “Devon. The name you don’t remember. It’s Devon.”

 Something in his memory slotted into place. The name sounded… right. That was it, the name he hadn’t been able to remember. The boy who vanished. Devon. And suddenly, with just that name, a memory returned. That late summer day at the lake, a century ago, the boy – Devon – almost drowning. He could remember how he had felt, how scared he had been, the adrenaline pulsing through his veins. And the way Devon had looked at him, hazel eyes open, dark curls, wet from the lake, hanging into his forehead, but still, the face he saw in his memory was Blaine’s…

 In one single moment of clarity, something broke inside Kurt as well, with the memory of a folder he had seen in this very office. Three words, one name, sealing his fate. The puzzle piece he’d been missing.

 Anderson, Blaine _Devon_.

 The boy who vanished.

 

* * *

 

Somehow, weirdly, things almost made sense. At least that was what Blaine tried to tell himself, as he was sitting down at the Hummels’ dining table, a steaming cup of tea in front of him. Kurt hadn’t known what to do with the weird boy he had found, so he brought him back home. He’d given Blaine some clothes that were only slightly too big for him, and towels to dry off from almost drowning. He had also given him some privacy to clean himself up – useful time to figure out just what his next move should be.

 The one thing he was certain of was that he had somehow travelled to the past, way back before Kurt had turned into a vampire. It wasn’t too far-fetched for an artefact of Chronos, the God of Time. But what was he to do now?

 The one thing he knew about time travel was that he was not supposed to interfere with the timeline. Now, Kurt had never mentioned seeing him before. Giving a fake name had been an instant reaction, even though using his own middle name might not have been the most creative idea. He vaguely remembered Kurt once mentioning how Blaine reminded him of someone from his past. Wouldn’t that be funny, if that someone had been himself all along? Either way, he had to make sure not to give Kurt information that would alter the timeline. That was the easiest rule – no spoilers.

 The next question was, how could he find a way back to his own time? Certainly, the wand of Chronos still existed in this timeline – which meant, he had to get to Sunnydale and find his way into the Brotherhood’s secret lair. Without the Watchers’ Council finding out about it, because that would change the timeline.

 This would be complicated. He didn’t even know if the Hellmouth had been at Sunnydale a hundred years ago. There must have been a Slayer already. But how organized were the Watchers of this time? How was he supposed to find them? Was turning to the Watchers really the best choice, given how not many of them seemed to be actually trustworthy? There was also the chance that they wouldn’t help him but rather keep him here and isolated to protect the timeline…

 But what other alternatives did he have? He couldn’t randomly try to find a witch somewhere. If only he had Quinn around… but no. This time, he was all on his own. He’d have to figure this one out himself.

 His plans had only been formed to the part where he wouldn’t tell Kurt anything about his future, by the time there had been a soft knocking at the bathroom door, and the careful question if everything was alright.

 And now here he was, sipping too hot tea in an attempt to hold off the inevitable questions that he had no idea how to answer. He could feel Kurt’s eyes on him. It was only a matter of time till this sixteen-year-old human version of the cynical vampire he’d come to know, would gather enough courage to ask. The Kurt he knew probably could have gotten him to spill everything by clearing his throat. This new shyness had some advantages, but Blaine knew it wouldn’t take that long.

 Inevitably, he could hear Kurt taking a long breath, as if gathering his courage as well as oxygen before he spoke.

 “Would you like something to eat?”

 Blaine’s disbelief must be obvious in the way he stared at Kurt, and the boy blushed. This was getting ridiculous. They’d have this conversation sooner or later anyway, and he clearly couldn’t just try to wait it out until Kurt gathered enough courage to ask what he actually wanted to know.

 “Kurt, do you believe in magic?” Blaine asked. There was no point denying that existed, especially since he would definitely need it to return home. He just hoped he could keep the time travel aspect to himself.

 A frown appeared on Kurt’s face, but the look in his eyes didn’t seem too skeptical – more thoughtful. It was probably easier to believe in magic after seeing a purple vortex appear out of nothing and dropping a guy into a lake.

 “Are you saying you were brought here by magic?” Kurt asked.

 Blaine nodded. “I did. It’s a really long story. Magic is real, as are witches. There’s so much more that exists, really. Demons, faeries… And there are those who try to keep humanity safe, the watchers. And the slayer.”

 “Slayer?” Kurt asked.

 “The Chosen One,” Blaine explained. “There’s always one, and after their death, another one gets chosen. I’m part of a group helping one of these Chosen Ones to protect humanity.”

 “How did that get you sent here?”

 “There was a conflict between our group and some vampires,” Blaine said. “They had acquired an artefact. Some wand. In the fight, it got discharged, and it created that vortex thing you saw. I was unlucky enough to get dragged into it, and the next thing I know is that I’m here.”

 “So… where are you from?” Kurt asked.

 He thought about it for a moment. There were many different answers. Technically, he was from around here. From the future was another answer that he couldn’t give. And his home had been a different place for a long time anyway.

 “Sunnydale,” he said. “It’s in California.”

 “We’re in Ohio,” Kurt said. “That’s… far away.”

 “I know,” Blaine said. And Kurt didn’t even know how far away.

 “So… you need to get back to California?” Kurt asked.

 That, too, was worth thinking about. He still wasn’t sure whether going to Sunnydale would be the right choice for him.

 “I think it’s more complicated than that,” he said eventually. “I think I first have to figure out just what that vortex is. The problem is, without a capable witch, I don’t think I’ll be able to.”

 “Aren’t you one, though? I mean, a warlock?”

 Blaine laughed. “I’m afraid not. I’m… well, as a friend of mine would put it, I’m very, _very_ human.”

 Kurt just looked him in confusion. Of course, it didn’t mean anything to him, and chances were, he wouldn’t even remember this moment when he’d say it in a far away future. Blaine tried his best to ignore the feeling of loneliness that started to settle in. But it would be okay. He’d find his way back, to his brother and his friends, and then he could tell Kurt all about today, tease him about the time he’d thought Blaine was a warlock.

 Wait, what?

 He frowned at Kurt. “How do you know that word?”

 Kurt blushed again. “Wh-what word?”

 “Warlock. I never said anything about warlocks,” Blaine said.

 “It’s just a word,” Kurt said. Of course, he was right, but it wasn’t a usual word, and Blaine didn’t think that it would have been more known in a world without tons of fantasy romance novels. No, Kurt had to know this word from somewhere else. If there had been any doubt, it was removed by this sweet but absolutely awful attempt at a poker face the boy in front of him was showing.

 “How do you know about Warlocks?” Blaine asked. Maybe, if he was a bit more forceful, he might get the answers he needed. He was not talking to a vampire, just a teenage boy.

 He was also talking to someone who’d become his closest friend, someone looking out for him, protecting him. Kurt didn’t know that yet, but he deserved so much better than being pressured, especially now when he was vulnerable. No, this would never be okay.

 “Look,” Blaine said instead, trying to keep the urgency out of his voice, “if you know anything about this… I need to get in contact with a witch. Or a warlock. I need to go home. If you know a way to help me, then _please_ , Kurt – tell me?”

 There was still hesitation, but then Kurt seemed to come to a decision, and Blaine realized he’d chosen the right strategy.

 “I know a bit about this,” he admitted. “My friend Rachel found this old tome, the book of shadows, and we’ve kind of been trying to see if it actually works.”

 Of course, there were almost as many books of shadows as there were witches in the world, but this was a start.

 “So, Rachel and you, do you have a mentor, or are you figuring things out on your own?” he asked.

 “We’re figuring it out with our friend Mercedes,” Kurt explained. “She has a talking board. We managed to get messages from the beyond. Well, Rachel thinks so. I’m not sure if she isn’t secretly moving the planchette…”

 “You have a Ouija board?” Blaine asked. He had seen enough from Quinn and Tina to have some basic knowledge on getting messages over it. Maybe this could help him find a witch to get him home…

 “We’ve also been trying to summon creatures,” Kurt said, “but it hasn’t worked so far.”

 Blaine gulped. “Summon… creatures?” he asked. “Um… you might want to be careful with that. There are some… awful things that can get through summoning portals.”

 Like faeries who took over your body and used it to make out with two of your friends before being hunted down and exiled by the faery queen… And Britt had been one of the nicer intruders.

 “I don’t think it could actually work,” Kurt said, but the sass wasn’t as certain as it was clearly intended to be.

 “Don’t try to mess with demons, please.”

 For a moment, Kurt’s eyes seemed to flare up. “I think we can take care of ourselves,” he said.

 Well, it was good to know that some of the fire within his friend was already here.

 “I didn’t mean to offend you. It can just… spiral out of control pretty fast,” Blaine said. He couldn’t help showing a self-deprecating grin, pointing to himself. “Case in point.”

 It seemed to placate Kurt, who nodded. “I was never really convinced it was real. Magic just seemed too… convenient. Maybe that’s why I underestimated the dangers.”

 “It can be convenient. It can also be such a pain,” Blaine said. “However, right now I think it could be our best choice. Do you think we can set something up with your friend?”

 “You really think this could help you?” Kurt asked.

 “I hope so,” Blaine said, trying to sound confident even though he was making things up as he went along. “The Ouija board might give me the identity of someone who can help me get home, maybe how I can find them. That kind of summoning shouldn’t be too difficult. I’m sure with four people we can manage it.”

 Kurt nodded, and there was something like excitement bubbling up in him. It was amazing enough that he’d be willing to help a complete stranger. But Blaine figured any aspiring magic user might go for the opportunity of actually proving that it was real.

 “We should go to Rachel’s, she’s living close by,” he said. “Let’s go.”

 As they stepped outside, they found another teenage boy right in front of the door, ready to knock. He was tall, could have been a football player, but there was something awkward about the way he carried himself. When he saw Kurt, he seemed surprised.

 “Oh, hey, Kurt,” he said. “Um… is Burt here?”

 Blaine turned to Kurt, who had all but transformed. Even if Blaine was starting to come to terms that he was around a teenage boy, not the detached vampire he’d gotten to know, nothing could have prepared him for seeing Kurt profusely blushing and almost tripping over himself.

 “Finn! What a surprise! I didn’t know you were coming over!”

 Blaine tried to remember if he ever heard the name Finn before, but Kurt was one of the most private people he knew. He’d never mentioned a former crush or lover. The closest admission to someone he’d cared about was Sebastian’s comments about that vanishing boy. Kurt was looking at this Finn kid as if he was ready to fall over. He seemed absolutely smitten, and it was very obvious that subtlety was a skill that this version of Kurt hadn’t even begun to master yet. A part of Blaine wondered whether he should be jealous, but mostly he couldn’t help but find teenage smitten human Kurt sort of adorable.

 Unfortunately, Finn didn’t seem to share that sentiment. He may not have picked up on just what Kurt was putting out there, but he started to look uncomfortable.

 “Burt wanted to teach me fishing, I was just wondering if he was back from work already,” Finn said. “So… is he?”

 “Oh. No, he’s still out,” Kurt said. “Would you maybe like to wait with us?”

 Now that was something Blaine objected to. He needed to figure out how to get home without disturbing the timeline, and the sooner he managed that the better.

 Finn shook his head though. “Um, no. I’ll check in later,” he said instead. “See you later Kurt. And, uh… dude?”

 “Devon,” Kurt said. “Oh, he’s an old friend.” It wasn’t a very convincing lie, but Blaine couldn’t exactly cast judgment on bad spontaneous lies at the moment.

 But apparently, Finn didn’t really care. “Okay, so… bye.”

 “Bye!” Kurt said, as the other boy turned around and left. His grin was still so wide, that Blaine felt the corners of his own mouth twitch up again. When he returned to his own timeline, there would be _so_ much teasing.

 As Kurt turned around to him, the smile immediately falls from his face. “Uh… that was. That was just Finn.”

 “I gathered,” Blaine said, not bothering to hide his grin. “So… Finn is a friend of yours?”

 “We go to the same school,” Kurt said, still clearly flustered. “And my dad and his mom… like each other.”

 “Looks like they’re not the only ones,” Blaine said, winking at Kurt.

 The effect was certainly not what he’d have expected. Kurt seemed to shut down immediately, except for a flicker of fear that Blaine was sure he’d never been able to pick up on if he hadn’t spent so much time trying to figure out emotions from that face.

 “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said in a tone of voice that shut down that conversation immediately.

 “Okay,” Blaine said, holding his hands up in what he hoped was a placating gesture. “Sorry, didn’t want to offend you.” He wasn’t quite sure what he’d done wrong, he had just been trying to tease him. Apparently, that really was something that would have to wait for about a century.

 “Come on. We should go see Rachel now,” Kurt said.

 

* * *

 

Blaine wasn’t quite sure what he’d expected from Rachel Berry, but he probably wouldn’t have predicted the ball of energy that greeted them. She was a tiny whirlwind, and once Kurt had told her Blaine had come here by magic, she seemed to immediately adopt him as a friend as well, excited at the possibility of doing actual spells.

 “I’m just trying to get information,” Blaine said, trying to calm her down.

 “I know, I know,” Rachel said, “but just think of it. This is proof that we’re on the right path, Kurt! I can’t wait to tell Mercedes! Are we doing this tomorrow night?”

 “Why not tonight?” Blaine asked.

 Rachel looked at him in confusion. “Tomorrow night is full moon,” she said, “everybody knows that makes magic stronger.”

 Blaine frowned. “Actually, I think that depends on what you’re doing,” he said. But he wasn’t quite sure what moon phase would be helpful for this sort of divination, and it was true that full moon met most requirements.

 “I think I’ve actually seen a fitting ritual in the book,” Rachel said. “Follow me!”

 The basement seemed inconspicuous at first look, but Rachel seemed determined as she walked up to a few boxes. She opened up one hidden at the back, and after some rummaging pulled out a large tome. As Blaine walked closer, he could feel a shudder running down his spine.

 “Can I have that?” he asked, as Rachel opened it up on a specific page.

 He had seen a few books of shadows. But this one felt too familiar in his hands. He remembered the writing, the drawings, the feeling of the material. Almost a century down the line, this would become Quinn’s book. It was the faintest connection to his own time. But it was enough encouragement for now.

 It turned out that Rachel seemed to have quite a talent. The ritual she had suggested might very well be exactly what he needed. It was supposed to build a connection to the fates and might just possibly give him the identity of the person he needed to find in order to get home. As they went over all they’d need, Blaine realized that it was very simple. They would have to perform some burnt offerings, but there was nothing too extravagant about it. Eventually, a drop of blood would build his own connection. He checked with Rachel that they’d have everything, as well as an empty house the next night.

 By the time their plan was complete, Kurt insisted they’d return to his house for dinner. His father shouldn’t get suspicious.

* * *

 

 All in all, Blaine would have expected that to be much more complicated than it turned out to be. Kurt had talked fondly about his father, how understanding and supportive he’d been. Still, there was supportive and then there was welcoming a complete stranger to stay the night, just because Kurt lied that he was an old friend. Blaine had been surprised when Kurt had repeated the same lie he’d told Finn – certainly Kurt’s father must have known that they’d never met before. Kurt had said Blaine had lived close by around the time his mother died. Maybe Burt Hummel’s memory of that time was hazy with grief, but either way, he’d been welcomed.

 There hadn’t been much conversation as they shared fish that Burt had caught in the afternoon with Finn. From Kurt’s tales, Blaine would have expected there would be more talking. Kurt had sounded so fond of his father, but what Blaine witnessed seemed weirdly distant, so it had been almost a relief when they could excuse themselves from the table.

 And so here he was, in a guest room in Kurt’s childhood home, staring at the ceiling. And only across the hall, there was Kurt, the man who’d been driving him insane in a dozen different ways for the last two years, now a bashful teenager harboring a secret crush on his soon-to-be stepbrother. The person across the hall would grow up to be his closest confidante. But now, he might as well have been a complete stranger. He wished he could exchange him for the vampire he knew. More than anything, he wished Cooper was here to take him home, or that Quinn would break the laws of magic and find him. He’d even take Brittany’s faery nonsense, or Santana’s remarks, Sue’s ranting, Sebastian’s innuendos, _anything_ familiar…

 He had to find a way home.

 There was a soft knock on the door. Before Blaine could answer, it opened, and Kurt slipped inside. He seemed to hesitate, but after a moment, he came closer.

 “Hey… can I talk to you?” Kurt asked.

 Blaine nodded, relieved. It wasn’t the version of Kurt he wanted to talk to, and it would just remind him so much more on how little he fit in here. But Blaine knew himself well enough to know that when he got into this state of mind, there was nothing more dangerous than being alone with his own thoughts.

 “Please, sit,” Blaine said, when he remembered his manners, and shifted a bit in the bed to make room for Kurt to sit.

 Once more, Kurt seemed to freeze immediately, and Blaine wondered what he’d done wrong now, but eventually, Kurt came closer and carefully sat down at the bedside, making sure there would be no touching whatsoever.

 “What’s going on?” Blaine asked.

 Kurt looked at him wide-eyed, and Blaine could basically see the thoughts running through the boy’s head as he tried to find the right words to start the conversation. It reminded him of earlier, when Kurt had just itched to ask where Blaine had come from, but hadn’t found the courage to actually utter the words. It was so much harder to help him out now, when Blaine wasn’t even sure what the conversation was about.

 “It’s just… it’s about something you said earlier,” Kurt said. Blaine noticed that there was a different energy to his fidgeting. Before, it had seemed endearing, curious. Now, Kurt seemed as if he was dreading the conversation.

 Blaine thought back on the revelations of the day, wondering which part had Kurt so upset. Had he said too much? God, he really hoped he hadn’t accidentally let anything slip about knowing Kurt in the future, he had been so careful…

 “About Finn,” Kurt added.

 “What?” Blaine looked at him in confusion. He couldn’t remember saying anything about Finn, they had only met the boy for a few minutes.

 “If things go well between my dad and his mom, there’s a really good chance that Finn is going to be my brother,” Kurt said, “and I’m really looking forward to that. I know Finn from school, and he’s started keeping an eye out for me. It’s not always easy there. People look at me, and… well… they make assumptions. Finn doesn’t, and… that’s a really great thing about him.”

 Blaine frowned. Where was this coming from? Had he given any indication of jealousy? Because he didn’t feel any, not really. The Kurt that he had such complicated feelings for didn’t even really exist yet. Why would he care? And why would Kurt care about him caring? Blaine was just a stranger to him.

 “Kurt… there’s nothing wrong with you liking Finn,” he said carefully.

 Kurt’s eyes widened as if he’d been slapped. “I don’t like Finn!”

 Blaine frowned. “You just said he’s great.”

 “I like him as a friend. A brother. Not… I mean…”

 Suddenly, Blaine felt like the dumbest person on the planet. This was the early twentieth century. Being out was not an option for Kurt. Of course, he reacted like this to the mere suggestion he could have feelings for a guy.

 “Look,” Blaine said, “don’t freak out. Because… if you did like him – more than that… there’d be nothing wrong with it, either.”

 “What are you implying?” Kurt asked, a threatening edge in his voice.

 “I’m not implying anything,” Blaine said, “but let me tell you something. People around you might think you’re weird or call you names. The truth is, they don’t know any better. But there’s nothing wrong with a boy loving boys, or a girl loving girls. It’s just love. How could that be wrong?”

 “That’s not… I’m…” Kurt looked at him almost scared.

 Blaine looked up at him and smiled, hoping it would look encouraging. He remembered, what felt like a lifetime ago, when Kurt had been the one to encourage him, to tell him that things would be alright. Returning the favor would have come naturally even if there were no feelings.

 “Look, let me tell you a secret. One that nobody knows.” Well, maybe one person. “I’m in love with a man. And it’s complicated. It’s scary. But that’s just because it’s love, and love can be like that. It has nothing to do with who you love. It might be tough to find the person who’s meant for you. But I promise you, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with you.”

 While he spoke, he could almost see the fear and defensiveness slip from Kurt’s face as he slowly started to relax. When he ended, he could have sworn he could see just the hint of moisture in Kurt’s eyes.

 “It doesn’t even matter,” Kurt said, looking down. “Finn is in love with Rachel. They’ve been talking about getting married.”

 “What matters isn’t this one person,” Blaine said. “What matters is that you know there’s nothing wrong with you.”

 Kurt still looked a bit skeptical. “I doubt a lot of people would think so,” he said. “I can’t imagine telling this to anyone… my dad…”

 Blaine frowned. “Your dad? He loves you.”

 “It’s not that easy,” Kurt said, looking down.

 Now, that would not work. As private as Kurt had been about his past, this was something he had talked about, once they had become friends. Blaine had complained about his parents, how unsupportive they had become, and the way Kurt had talked about his father… there was no doubt.

 Without thinking, Blaine touched the boy’s chin to lift it up, making him meet his eyes.

 “Kurt, I promise you one thing. Your father loves you, he will love you no matter what. No matter what you do, what you become, and definitely no matter who you might love. If you believe me one thing, then this.”

 Now, he was sure, that it was tears that Kurt tired to blink away. “You really think so?” he asked.

 “I know so,” Blaine said.

 Another hesitation, then… “Do you think I’ll find someone?”

 There wasn’t an answer in the world that Blaine could give without awful consequences. He tried to think back desperately if Kurt had ever mentioned anybody he’d been with. But again, all he knew was Sebastian’s cryptic comments, and that hadn’t been a particularly encouraging story. And what could he himself even offer?

 “Well,” he said eventually, “I can’t tell you anything about the future.” Shouldn’t. “But I promise you this. You will be loved.”

 The next moment, Kurt was in his arms, and they held each other close. Blaine closed his eyes, pulling him close, and pretended not to notice the slight moisture of tears.

 He would find a way home, somehow. But maybe for now, he was right where he was supposed to be.

 

* * *

 

 

They spent the next day mostly talking, and waiting for the night to fall. Their nighttime talk seemed to have given Kurt more trust in this stranger that had stumbled into his life, and he learned more about his childhood – about Elizabeth Hummel and her early dead, how Kurt’s father had withdrawn and only now was starting to thaw again. How lonely Kurt had felt for so long, how he had just started to come out of his shell thanks to his friendship with Rachel and Mercedes. There were still so many questions, but the kaleidoscope that was Kurt Hummel started to show an outline.

 Still, as much as Blaine wanted to learn about him, he was still relieved when the sun set and they walked over to Rachel’s house.

 “Oh my god, I can’t believe we’re actually summoning spirits,” Rachel said, as she led them down into the basement, where Mercedes was already waiting.

 Meeting her was strange. She was someone that Kurt had actually told him about. Back after the Eerie had abducted him, Kurt had told him of his first encounter with the sisters, of his friend Mercedes who’d been taken and killed by them, and how Kurt, drunk on his new immortality, had tried and failed to save her.

 Mercedes seemed to be a lovely girl, as did Rachel. Blaine thought he could easily like both of them. But he realized the longer he stayed, the greater the danger would be to get attached to people he knew were already dead in his time.

 The ritual was set up quickly in Rachel’s basement. Candles were burning, and in the middle of the room, in front of the Ouija board, they burnt different herbs in a bowl. As a last step, Blaine pricked his finger and let a drop of blood fall into it, before all of them put a finger onto the planchette, a small piece of wood even more heart-shaped than Blaine was used to from similar boards.

 Blaine tried to breathe calmly, and not to actively influence the answer. The girls and Kurt chanted the words written down in the book of shadows, and eventually, he joined in, chanting until it was time for him ask the question.

 “Tell me who I need to find.”

 For a moment, nothing happened. The next second, he could feel the planchette move.

 “Oh my god,” Kurt whispered.

 It moved, and stopped for a moment at the letter I.

 “It’s working!” Rachel gasped.

 “Concentrate,” Mercedes said calmly, as the planchette continued to move, slowly forming a name.

 Isabelle of Wright.

 Blaine closed his eyes. At least it was a name that he recognized, but that was about the only good thing in this situation.

 “Is she a witch?” Rachel asked.

 “Worse. A demon lord, and a very powerful one,” Blaine said.

 This was bad. He didn’t know much about the demon lord that had created Kurt as a vampire. Kurt had fled to Sunnydale to hide from her, had even preferred Cooper’s wrath after attacking Blaine before he’d go and face her again. Sebastian had been chattier during the “kidnapping”, but his stories didn’t exactly paint the picture of a person Blaine would want to meet under any circumstances. Was that really the only way? Did he have to get in contact with her?

 He looked up and met Kurt’s eyes. It felt like an ice shower. Sebastian had told him that Kurt had been the one to seek out Isabelle, had actively tried to be turned into a vampire. The boy didn’t seem to recognize the name, had apparently never heard it before. Was this how he found out about her? Had Blaine just put him onto the path to become a vampire?

 Blaine felt sick to his stomach, but the girls didn’t seem to notice.

 “Where will he find her?” Rachel asked.

 Before Blaine could say a word, the planchette started to move again.

 Lima.

 And probably not the one in Peru.

 So this was it. He would meet Isabelle here. The demon lord would come in, Kurt would get in contact with her, and history would unfold. He had known that he couldn’t change history, that whatever he did, things would play out as they always had. Kurt would become a vampire, they would meet again about a century later. Everything would be as it was meant to be.

 And everything would be Blaine’s fault.

 “Are you okay?” Kurt asked.

 Blaine looked up, straight into his ocean eyes, and he didn’t know what he could do or say.

 “I’m sorry,” he whispered. But even as the words left his mouth, he felt something different, like a deep vibration running through the ground, shaking him.

 From the looks on Kurt’s and the girls’ faces he realized, it wasn’t just him. Then, he saw the hint of purple lightning erupting from the board.

 “Run! Get outside!” Blaine yelled.

 Rachel was on her feet first, followed by Mercedes who dragged Kurt away, as hints of the purple vortex rose from the Ouija board. Blaine’s first instinct was to run as well. But what would happen? He remembered how he couldn’t let Kurt walk into it, how he had wanted to protect him, and how it had disappeared once it had taken him. Could he keep Kurt and his friends safe if he went into the vortex willingly?

 “Devon, come on, run!”

 It was Kurt’s voice, and following it had become second nature to him. But it was the wrong voice, too soft, too young, and it didn’t hold that kind of power over him, yet.

 He turned around to see Kurt at the top of the basement’s stairs, even as Mercedes tried to drag him away.

 “Don’t worry,” Blaine said, “I will see you again.” And with these words, he stepped back into the vortex.


	4. Chapter 4

* * *

 As soon as Blaine touched the vortex, he felt the ground fall from his feet. Faintly, he could hear Kurt and the girls calling out to him, but it soon disappeared. Everything around him was turning, and the dizziness hit him so hard that he felt instantly nauseated. But now, he knew what to expect. He’d end up back in the real world eventually, maybe in a more convenient time, maybe in a way he could avoid calling up Isabelle. It was the hope he needed to hold on to, even as the eternal whirling made it almost impossible to hold onto a thought.

 And then, over the vortex he could hear a voice, a woman screaming. He managed to open his mouth, fighting down the nausea, and he called out to whoever might be out there. He could feel the other presence coming closer, and then he thought he could hear the voice calling out.

  _“Help_!”

 Blaine reached out his hand, and then…

 Pain exploded through his back as he was thrown out of the vortex and straight into a concrete wall. He gasped from the pain, and before he could even begin to take in his surroundings, he heard a voice.

 “Oh my god, are you okay?”

 He didn’t need to open his eyes to recognize Kurt’s voice. He didn’t want to open his eyes to see another version that wasn’t what he needed.

 A hand – warm, way too warm – touched his cheek, as Kurt called his name (“Devon!”, and even the name was wrong).

 “It’s you… I can’t believe it’s you…”

 Slowly, Blaine opened his eyes. The first thing he noticed was a slight flush in Kurt’s face, confirming that he was still human. But apart from that, he seemed closer to what Blaine remembered. Soft cheeks had made way to sharp cheek bones, the soft hair was styled in a confident manner, even his clothes looked different, as if meant for standing out.

 “Are you okay?” Kurt asked again. He seemed calmer, more controlled. But the blush on his cheeks was still there. And there was something else. His eyes were bloodshot as if he’d been crying.

 Blaine nodded carefully. “I’m fine… Just… how long has it been?”

 “Four years,” Kurt said softly. “What happened to you?”

 “The vortex. It took me here,” Blaine said. “Told you I’d see you again.”

 Kurt blinked at him in confusion, then a small smile settled on his lips. “You did,” he said, something akin to awe in his voice. “Here, let me help you.”

 Carefully, he pulled Blaine to his feet. The pain of the impact was fading.

 “I didn’t think I’d ever see you again,” Kurt said softly. “The thing, that vortex… it just took you away.”

 He wondered if he should tell Kurt that it had only been minutes for him since they met the last time, but that would come too close to reveal the whole time travel thing he was still trying to keep under wraps.

 Kurt led him upstairs, and a few minutes later, he had a plate of sandwiches standing in front of him. The nausea from the vortex had died down, and Blaine realized that he actually felt hungry. As he ate, he looked at Kurt, trying to figure out what was going on with him. He seemed more serious than before, not just older.

 “So… what has happened with you?” he asked eventually.

 Kurt looked down, harshly inhaling.

 “Um… so… My dad and Carole got married,” he said. “And um… I told my dad. About me.”

 “How did it go?” Blaine asked.

 “You were right,” Kurt said softly. “He… doesn’t care. He loves me anyway.”

 There was something else. Something he wasn’t telling.

 “Finn and Rachel got engaged,” Kurt continued. “She was so happy…”

 Now they were getting closer. “What happened?”

 Kurt closed his eyes, then finally looked up and met Blaine’s eyes. “Finn volunteered, as a soldier. For the war.”

 War. Blaine shuddered. Four years. 1918…

 “He fell in battle,” Kurt finished.

 Blaine couldn’t even remember pulling Kurt into his arms, holding onto him as tight as he could. He could feel when the boy started crying in his arms. He thought of how bashful Kurt had been, and the perky happiness of Rachel. How hard this must have been for their family…

 “I’m so sorry,” he whispered into Kurt’s hair. There was nothing else he could say. But Kurt clutched onto him as if he was a life raft, and it made Blaine think that just maybe he was doing the right thing.

 He wasn’t sure how much time had passed by the time Burt Hummel returned home. Kurt had calmed down by then, but it was obvious with one look that he’d been crying. Blaine wasn’t sure what to expect of the man he’d only had one conversation with. But it was obvious that he too had changed during the last few years. Even if he didn’t say much about Blaine’s presence, he seemed relieved to have someone here for his son.

 And so, Blaine found himself for the second time in the Hummels’ guest room, although he wouldn’t have recognized it immediately. Finn must have moved in here, before his death. It shouldn’t really be that upsetting. Blaine had met the boy once, and it hadn’t been a very profound encounter. But just seeing the hole he left in his families’ lives was enough to invoke grief, even more than the fact that nobody this young should die half a world away in a senseless conflict.

 He wasn’t surprised when the door opened, this time without knocking, and Kurt slipped into the room. This time, there was less hesitation as he sat down at Blaine’s bedside.

 “Do you want to talk about him?” Blaine asked softly.

 There was gratitude in Kurt’s eyes as he looked up and nodded.

 “Then tell me.”

 It seemed to have opened floodgates, as if Kurt had held on to his thoughts for an eternity. Blaine wondered if anybody had taken the time to actually listen to him, how he really felt about this boy that he had been in love with once, who then had become his close friend and brother.

 Eventually, he seemed to have run out of words. Blaine wondered whether he should speak, but his silence seemed to be helpful enough at the moment. He held Kurt’s hand, a silent gesture of support.

 “Thank you,” Kurt said. “I just… I don’t think I had anyone I could tell everything about Finn. Especially about how I used to… like him. Even if my dad knows, it would just be too strange.”

 “Just remember, there’s nothing wrong with you,” Blaine said.

 Kurt looked at him with a strange expression in his face. “There’s nothing wrong with you, either.”

 Blaine’s eyes widened. For a second, just a flash, he saw _his_ Kurt through those sea-colored eyes. It felt like a squeeze around his heart. He had to go home…

 And Kurt, this younger Kurt, still not quite who he’d grow into, seemed to see something in his face. Carefully, he put a hand on Blaine’s face and connected their lips.

 Twice so far, he had kissed Kurt. The first time, he’d been possessed by Brittany during her first foray in the world she’d come enchanted by. He’d barely been able to see what his body was doing under fae control. The second time, Kurt had initiated it, only to later call it a mistake. And now, here he was, with a Kurt who was still not quite right, who was too young, didn’t know anything about his future, and Blaine should be strong and stop this.

 But it was still Kurt, and he just… he couldn’t.

 Without really deciding to, he took control of the kiss, moving his lips against Kurt’s, sliding an arm around him to pull him close. It was sweet, shy on Kurt’s part, and Blaine wondered if this was his first kiss, thrilled as he realized it almost had to be.

 When he pulled back, the look on Kurt’s face could only be described as awe. Blaine felt a smile form on his face, so wide it almost hurt. Kurt’s cheeks were flushed (and wasn’t that a sight he could get used to?), and his eyes sparkling.

 “Oh,” Kurt said. “So.. that’s… that’s kissing.”

 “Yeah,” Blaine said.

 “I… think I like it.”

 Blaine couldn’t help but laugh out loud, not caring whether anybody could hear him.

 “You know what? So do I.”

 Kurt blushed, ducking his head to look away. “I should… We… should get some sleep. I mean… I should…”

 “You should go back to your room,” Baine agreed. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

 Kurt hesitated for a second, then he bowed forward and brushed his lips against Blaine’s one more time, before he got up and left the room.

 The grin was hard to banish from Blaine’s face. This was a bad idea, but right now? It felt pretty good.

 

* * *

 

Visiting Rachel was the next logical step. As Finn’s fiancée, obviously she was shaken by his loss, and Blaine wanted to comfort her for that alone. What he didn’t want to say out loud was that he hoped the group’s handling of witchcraft had improved as well, and they might help him to find a way back home without contacting the demon lord Isabelle. He just hoped he’d find a way to bring this up tactfully. The last thing he wanted was to hurt the girl.

 When Rachel opened the door, she looked at the both of them. It took her a moment to recognize Blaine, but when she did, she almost threw himself into his arms.

 Confused, Blaine returned the hug.

 “I’m so glad you’re here,” Rachel said. “I thought… I wasn’t sure. But… this is a sign.”

 “Sign for what?” Kurt asked, his voice mirroring the skepticism Blaine felt.

 “Come inside,” Rachel said, pulling Blaine with her as she led them to the basement.

 It looked different from the way it had before. The last time he’d been here, the occult tools had been hidden. Now, they were on full display. Blaine noticed a pattern drawn onto the floor with chalk, an elaborate pentagram. He felt the blood rush from his face as he recognized it.

 “Rachel… is that a devil’s trap?” he asked.

 “It is,” she said, her voice determined as steel. “Is it drawn well?”

 He wished he could give her a definite answer, but he didn’t know enough about this. There was, however, one thing he knew. Rachel was on the verge of a catastrophically horrible idea.

 “Rachel, you can’t summon a demon,” he said sharply.

 “Can’t or shouldn’t?” Rachel replied. The determination in her face didn’t waver, even seemed to increase as she met his gaze without hesitation.

 “What’s going on here?” Kurt asked. “Rachel… what are you doing?”

 For the first time, she seemed to falter as she looked to Kurt, and Blaine could see the pain behind her resolve.

 “Kurt… I can’t go on like this,” she said, “do you have any idea how much I miss him? It’s like somebody carved out a part of my heart. And I just… I can’t…”

 Kurt’s expression softened. “Rachel… I know it’s hard…”

 “But summoning a demon isn’t going to help you,” Blaine added quickly “How could that possibly help you?”

 When Rachel looked up at him, he had a very distinct feeling that he was going to regret ever speaking these words.

 “I’ve done my research, Devon. I will summon a demon lord. And she’ll bring him back.”

 “She?” Blaine repeated, and suddenly he understood.

 “I’ve researched her ever since you visited us last time,” Rachel said. “Isabelle of Wright, demon lord. I figured you would come back, and how we could help you when that happened. I’ve read much about her, any piece of information I could get my hand on. And I found out that she sometimes makes deals with mortals. That’s what I will do. I’ll strike a deal to bring back Finn. You being here is just the sign that it’s the right path. And who knows, maybe you can make a deal too, so you can find your way back home.”

 In his mind, he saw Kurt as a vampire, remembered Sebastian’s words about trading souls.

 “Rachel, things like that have a price,” he said, “one you can’t be ready to pay.”

 But when she looked at him again, he realized how wrong he was.

 “There is no price I’m not willing to pay,” she said. “I will get him back.”

 And apparently, his words had been an even poorer choice than he’d thought.

 “Wait,” Kurt said, “are you saying it’s possible? Can demon lords bring people back from the dead?”

 Blaine turned to him, willing himself to lie. But it was too late, one look at his face told Kurt everything he needed to know.

 “We can do it, then?”

 “Don’t,” Blaine said. “Please… Don’t.” But he knew, it was a lost battle.

 “I have the ritual right here,” Rachel said. “I was actually just about to begin. Let’s do it together. Please… if there’s any chance to bring him back, I have to take it.”

 “We’ll do it,” Kurt agreed.

 Blaine stared between them, and it felt like the ground was slowly dissolving under his feet, as he was weighing his options. Could he stop them now? They seemed so determined. He had seen stubbornness in Kurt before, and if he got that look, there wasn’t a chance to convince him otherwise. If Blaine went along with it, could he maybe contact Isabelle and find the way back home, hopefully diverting her attention from Kurt? Was that even something he wanted? After all, Kurt had to become a vampire. That was how the timeline worked out. He couldn’t change the timeline, but it was so hard to figure out the right thing when he didn’t know what exactly happened. He wished, Kurt had been more open about his past, wished he himself had tried harder to uncover his past. Then again, how could he have known it would ever be important?

 But one thing he could tell, the summoning of Isabelle would happen whether he helped or not. All he could do was try to prevent the worst.

 “Alright,” he said eventually.

 Rachel directed them to sit down in a triangle after she inflamed the different bowls of herbs. As the smell of smoke wafted through the basement, Rachel started to chant – almost sing – in a language Blaine was sure he’d heard before but couldn’t quite place. It was stunning, watching her change. Last time, all they’d done was using a Ouija board. Now, Rachel seemed to have grown into the role of a witch. He wondered how much he’d missed, how Kurt had progressed by now.

 And then, in the center of the devil’s trap, a crack opened. Light streamed out, even as the lightbulbs around them started to flicker. Blaine looked up to see the elation in Rachel’s eyes as she started to cheer.

 The crack broke through the marking of the devil’s trap, and the cheer died in Rachel’s throat. The light got brighter and then, he heard Rachel scream. Out of the crack, something like dark shadowy hands appeared, and they were grabbing for her. Blaine jumped to his feet involuntarily. Before he could make a conscious decision he reached out to grab hold of Kurt’s sweater, pushing him away from the circle. Something had gone wrong, and he hadn’t known what. But lowly, in a sound like gravel, he thought he could make out words.

 “Not. Worthy.”

 Again, Rachel screamed. Blaine dove forward, trying to get hold of her, even as the hands grabbed for her, dragging her into the light. He never should have let this happen. He knew how dangerous it was to summon demons, Quinn had been so clear about this. How could he ever have thought taking part in this would be the right choice, that he could make a difference?

 His hand closed around the fabric of Rachel’s dress, and then…

 Erupting from the fiendish light, there was an explosion of darkness and purple lightning. No, not now… He tried to keep his hold on Rachel, to keep her anchored in this world, to not abandon her to whatever was trying to consume her. Somewhere far away, he could hear Kurt’s voice, screaming for him, and then…

 The world around him dissolved, back into the swirling black and purple as the vortex caught him once more, and Rachel was torn away from him.

 Her screams followed him into the darkness.

 

* * *

 

“So, to sum it up, we’re dealing with a closed time loop. Blaine was sucked into a time travel vortex, occasionally escaped it during events in Kurt’s past, where he eventually dies.”

 It sounded clinical, the way Tina put it, and completely hopeless. And she was right, of course. Cooper had known it the second Kurt had admitted that Blaine had died.

 The boy who vanished, and the brother who had failed him. The Chosen One, what a joke he was. If Blaine had been sucked up into that vortex one last time, there’d be hope. But how was he supposed to fight against fate, against the facts of those two vampires telling him that his brother died? A memory hit him, of long ago, of being a child himself, holding his baby brother, and swearing to always keep him safe. Blaine wasn’t a baby anymore, had become so much harder to protect. But he remembered how determined he’d been back then, how he’d promised he’d protect Blaine, no matter what.

 No. He would not give up now. Something as small as impossibility would not stop him from coming through for his brother.

 “I hope you’re proud of yourselves,” Schuster said. “The boy is dead, and it’s these two that are responsible for it.”

 “ _I_ didn’t kill him,” Smythe protested.

 “Yet you were the one who yielded the wand and sent him away,” Schuster replied.

 “I don’t care whose fault it is right now,” Cooper said. “I care about how to get my brother back.”

 Schuster stared at him as if he had just declared himself king od the hellmouth. “Didn’t you listen? Your brother is dead! He died in the past, there is no getting him back.”

 Cooper glared at him. “You honestly expect me to abandon him?”

 Emma stepped up now. “You don’t understand. It would mean changing the past! It can’t be done!”

 He looked around for support but was sorely disappointed. Schuster was glaring at him, even Sue was shaking her head as if there was no hope. Tina looked grief-stricken, even Santana showed pity, no trace of her usual snark. And Kurt… Kurt didn’t seem to have moved since the moment he had realized just who his “boy who vanished” actually was. A flutter of fear rose within Cooper. Could he do this if nobody seemed to believe in him?

 It was Smythe who eventually spoke out. “Can’t? Or shouldn’t?”

 “What?” Schuster asked.

 “Well,” Smythe said, the smarm almost dripping off him, “you and your council have a lot of rules about what can’t be done, mostly because you’re just too scared to actually do it.”

 “You said it yourself, the boy died,” Schuster said.

 “He did. Doesn’t mean he has to this time,” Smythe said. Apparently, he had decided being proactive was his best chance to get out of this in one piece.

 “There is no this time and that time, there is one time and it’s in the past,” Schuster yelled. “You can’t change the timeline.”

 “According to your council, you can’t travel through time, either,” Smythe replied. “Open your eyes. Get creative. We have an artefact of Chronos. You really think you can’t break the laws of reality when you have the artefact of a god?”

 “You think we can use this?” Cooper asked.

 “I think it’s better to take a shot than just give up,” Smythe said. And that was an attitude Cooper could get behind.

 “I thought you wanted to bring this artefact to your demon lord,” Tina said, suspicion swinging in her voice.

 “What can I say? I have a soft spot for that siren,” Smythe said with a shrug. “And an even softer one for not getting killed-by-slayer.”

 “But how? How can we use this?” Cooper asked.

 Another voice spoke up, and it too was not one he’d have expected.

 “I might have a few ideas about that.”

 In the entrance of the office stood Jesse St. James. 

“What are you doing here?” Sue asked. 

Jesse held up his phone. “Lovely Miss Fabray called me and told me in no uncertain terms that I should get myself as well as my knowledge about artefacts here and at your disposal ASAP, and as I would hate to disappoint the lady…”

 “Quinn sent you?” Cooper asked.

 “She did say she’d get back to me once she’d taken care of a few things,” Santana said musingly, as he fiddled with her laptop. “And she has a point. Who knows more about artefacts than a peddler.”

 A moment later, Santana turned the screen where Quinn’s face had appeared, and just the sight of her brought back Cooper’s hope. If Quinn believed this was possible, then there had to be a way.

 “Alright, people, let’s focus,” Quinn said, her voice tinny over the speaker. “This is a bit beyond our usual business, we’re actually trying to change the past.”

 “Are all of you insane?” Schuster yelled. “Sue, this is madness. We’re watchers. We’re supposed to protect humanity. Are you really trying to risk the world for the fate of one person?”

 “It’s your duty to protect the innocents,” Cooper said. “And to support me in my cause. And right now, my cause is to protect my brother. So get in line, Schuster. We are doing this.”

 Schuster turned to Sue, who eventually shrugged. “You can argue about Prince Eric’s use, but I will not sit back and wait for the flood of tears that’s going to crash down on Sunnydale if he isn’t returned in one piece. So let’s see what you misfits can conjure up.”

 “Sue, you’re positioning yourself directly against the Watchers’ council,” Schuster said. “This will have consequences. On behalf of the council-“

 “Will, please.”

 Emma Schuster had stepped up, taking hold of her husband’s arm.

 “What, Emma?”

 For the first time since he met her, there was no fear or hesitation in her eyes. “Will… they are right,” she said. “This boy is innocent. He’s risking his life to fight demons, even if it’s not his destiny. He only got sucked into this trying to protect someone.”

 “To protect a monster,” Schuster added.

 She took hold of his cheek and turned it towards her, looking at him intently. “Remember what I told you back then, when I asked you to marry me? _Everyone_ deserves a second chance. So please, William. Let’s do the right thing now.”

 Cooper frowned. There was something going on here that he didn’t understand. But as Schuster slowly nodded, he realized he didn’t need to. Whatever Schuster’s motives were, he only cared about one thing – the slightest chance to get his brother back safely.

 “Alright. We’ll try it,” Schuster said. “What are we working with?”

 The energy that had slumped over the revelation of Blaine’s fate seemed to pick up, although there was something more urgent, desperate underneath the surface. Looking around, Cooper noticed that one person still seemed to not get with the program. Kurt had come to sit on one of the couches and didn’t seem to have noticed anything that had happened in the last minutes.

 That was the thing Cooper just didn’t understand. He had gotten so used to Kurt always springing into action at the mere hint of Blaine being in danger, as much as the vampire tried to hide it. Why was he in such a state of shock right now that he wasn’t even trying? No, this wouldn’t do.

 “Kurt. You, me, corridor, _now._ ”

 As they stepped outside, he immediately cornered the vampire. “Now tell me what the hell is going on there.”

 Kurt looked at him in confusion “What… what do you mean?”

 “You realize that we’re trying to make the impossible happen, right? We’re literally trying to change history to get Blaine back. Why aren’t you up there helping?”

 “I think I’ve done enough,” Kurt said, his voice sounding weirdly hollow.

 “We can change it,” Cooper said. “Doesn’t this mean anything? It doesn’t mean he has to die again!”

 At this, Kurt looked up at him and Cooper almost recoiled. He looked like a dead man walking.

 “You don’t understand,” he said, his voice barely above a rasp. “Cooper, the boy who vanished… _Blaine_ … he didn’t just die. I killed him.”

 

* * *

 

This time, the impact was barely softened by what felt like a carpet. Again, the air was knocked out of Blaine as he looked up at the ceiling above him. He closed his eyes again, and for a moment wished he could just disappear. What more would he ruin? He tried to think of Rachel, what had happened to her. It had looked as if she’d been dragged into hell itself. And how had Kurt handled it, losing his friend in such a traumatic way only shortly after losing his step-brother?

 The floor underneath him creaked, and he noticed someone coming closer. A hand touched his cheek, softly stroking it.

 “Devon?”

 Blaine opened his eyes, meeting Kurt’s gaze. Involuntarily, he scanned his face for the changes. He closed his eyes again, at the same time disappointed and relieved. Kurt’s skin wasn’t quite as pale as he remembered, his eyes just a tad bit less sharp. But apart from those changes that vampirism and time had wrought, they’d come to look alike. It couldn’t be too long now. It would happen soon.

 “Devon? Please look at me,” Kurt said.

 How could he resist? Blaine opened his eyes, readily meeting his gaze.

 “Kurt,” he said.

 There was a smile on his face, but something was off about it. For a moment he thought it was grief again, about Rachel maybe. Then he realized that years must have passed for Kurt again.

 “You always show up like this, don’t you?” Kurt said, his voice soft and with a nostalgic note in it. “When I need you. When I need someone to be here…”

 “What happened?” Blaine asked as he slowly sat up.

 Kurt blinked, clearly trying to hold back tears. Blaine pulled him close to him, holding him in an embrace. And then, he could almost feel the sob wracking the other’s body, and the tears started to flow. All he could do was hold onto Kurt once more, and it felt like that was all he was good for anyway.

 And through the sobs, he could hear just two words. “My dad…”

 “Oh Kurt.”

 He held him closer, realizing that there was nothing he could say to make things better. He’d become a harbinger of doom in Kurt’s life – or maybe not, maybe he was just here to help pick up the pieces, to try and sow him back together.

 After a while, the sobs died down. They moved from the floor over to Kurt’s bed where they sat down together. Calmer now, Kurt began talking.

 “He had a heart attack,” he said. “I never saw it coming. And we… we’d been fighting before. I just… I wasn’t a good son lately. It was just so hard. And now… I’m never going to see him again, Devon. He’s just gone, and I’m all alone.”

 “I’m so sorry, Kurt,” he whispered. “But you’re not alone.”

 “I have nobody who understands,” Kurt said. “Nobody who’d listen.”

 “I listen,” Blaine said.

 Kurt’s expression softened, but the sadness seemed to deepen. “You do. You’re always there when I need you. But then, you just… vanish.”

 Blaine frowned. There was something at the back of his mind, a nagging thought, but he tried to ignore it.

 “I’m here now,” Blaine said.

 Kurt looked at him fondly. “You are.” He hesitated. Slowly, something in his expression shifted. There was a contemplation, and Blaine wasn’t quite sure what was going on behind his eyes. This at least was something he was used to. But then, Kurt nodded, thoughtfully, and pressed their lips together.

 It felt more urgent than their last kiss. There was an underlying despair in the way Kurt’s hands clutched into the fabric of his shirt, as if he tried to bury into him. And as amazing as it felt, having Kurt like this, actually wanting him, it was obvious that this was not about them. With all determination he could summon, Blaine slowly backed away.

 “Kurt… don’t rush into anything,” he said. “You’re upset, you’re grieving. Don’t do anything you’ll regret. Some things are worth waiting for.”

 Kurt looked at him as if he had lost his mind. “I’ve been waiting for nine years.”

 Blaine’s eyes widened. This couldn’t be true, could it? Kurt couldn’t have waited all this time for him?

“Devon… _please_.” Kurt looked so vulnerable, he almost seemed desperate.

 “What do you want?” Blaine asked deflecting.

 The vulnerability faded into unwavering determination. “With you? Everything.”

 Blaine looked right into his eyes, and suddenly breathing got hard. Falling for Kurt had been slow, complicated, even before he’d been pushed to the realization. It had built for so long, to the point that it was actually painful. This wasn’t quite right, not quite what he wanted. But it was still Kurt, still the man he loved, and he was so, _so_ close.

 “I love you,” Blaine said, not even sure if he was talking to the Kurt in front of him or the one from his future.

 Kurt looked at him, overwhelmed by emotion. “Thank god,” he whispered, before kissing him again. Blaine didn’t even have the strength to protest any further. And as they sank into the mattress, he forgot why he should.

 

* * *

 

When Blaine woke up, he wasn’t sure how much time had passed. It was dark outside, and the light of the full moon was falling through the window. The next thing he noticed was that the other side of the bed was empty. He sat up, looking around. His clothes were still lying on the floor, but Kurt’s were gone.

 That nagging voice at the back of his head had returned. Somehow, it sounded like Sebastian, and he was laughing.

 He fished on the floor for his clothes, putting on his pants and shirt before switching on the lights. On his desk, there were notes lying around. Blaine stepped closer, curious what he was working on. It took him only a few moments to recognize that they were about rituals. Or rather, a specific ritual – the one Rachel had used. And as he kept reading, the blood in his veins seemed to turn to ice.

 Oh god.

 The next thing he knew, he was running out of the room, down the stairs and into the basement. He recognized it all. The burning herbs, the devil’s trap on the floor, the chanting, Kurt’s voice powerful and enchanting as Rachel’s had been. But before he could interrupt or do anything to stop him, once again, a crack opened underneath the devil’s trap, light streaming out. Kurt stood in front of it, not scared the slightest, and then…

 A pillar of light erupted from the floor, and when it faded, the devil’s trap had cracked in every line. In the middle of it, there was a woman. Her fair was wispy and blond, her white dress fitting for the wedding of a queen. Blaine had never seen her, but it was obvious who he was standing in front of. It had to be the demon lord, Isabelle.

 “You summoned me,” she said, addressing Kurt. Her voice sounded sweet, reminded him of a bell, and there was a tone of pleased amusement in her voice.

 “You’re Lady Isabelle,” Kurt said. “I’ve called you to strike a bargain.”

 She laughed, and although the sound was lovely, it sent a shudder down Blaine’s spine. There was something uncanny about her, as if her mere presence warned him how dangerous she was.

 She looked up, her eyes falling onto Blaine. “Oh. You are here.”

 Kurt turned around, and as he saw Blaine, the guilt on his face was damning.

 “Devon… I thought you were still asleep,” he said. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to-“

 “Use me?” Blaine finished. “I’ve seen the notes, Kurt. Lost innocence… that’s what Rachel got wrong, isn’t it? The secret ingredient to get a demon lord to listen to you, to offer innocence. Like your virginity. And I actually believed you… but that was all, wasn’t it? You just… _used_ me to summon her.”

 Kurt’s face crumpled, and he seemed to just so stop himself from crying. “I’m sorry. But… I can’t let him go. I just can’t.”

 “You wish for your father to be returned to life,” Isabelle said.

 Kurt shook his head. “I want my father, and Finn, and Rachel. What is the price?”

 She sighed, shaking her head. “One, you can have. Another is too long gone. The third is beyond my reach. I will grant you your father. The price is your soul. It shall be mine, and you shall be my servant for eternity.”

 “Eternity?” Kurt repeated.

 “She’ll turn you into a vampire,” Blaine said, his voice sharper than intended. “You will watch everybody you loved die. You will kill to stay alive. You will go through hell before you find yourself again.” He wanted to tell him not to do it, that he would come to regret it.

 But then… even if he could convince Kurt, what did it mean? He’d never meet Kurt, this whole time travel wouldn’t happen… it wouldn’t even get so far, for how would Cooper and the gang be able to defeat Starchild and stop the apocalypse without Kurt’s help? There was too much depending on history going the way it had… Blaine felt frozen. He couldn’t change things, but he couldn’t watch them happen either. What was he supposed to do?

“It is your choice,” Isabelle said, “but the boy’s presence is testimony to the choice you will make.”

 Blaine bristled at being described as the boy. And again, there was this nagging, taunting voice at the back of his head.

 It clicked.

  _“He had a boy like you once. The boy who vanished.”_

_“But then, you just… vanish.”_

_“It didn’t end well. The boy died.”_

 Blaine stared at Kurt, at the demon in front of him. He wanted to run, get away from here somehow, but he was frozen like a deer in the headlights. It all made sense. He wouldn’t find his way home, wouldn’t see Cooper or his Kurt or any of his friends ever again. He would die.

 “You understand,” Isabelle said, almost regarding him fondly. “Thank you for your assistance. But you have done your part now.”

 Kurt looked between them, not sure what was going on. “What about our deal?” he asked.

 She tilted her head. “Do you accept my conditions?”

 Kurt shot Blaine one more look. The apologies were clear in his eyes, but they both knew, they wouldn’t make a difference. Instead, he turned around, facing Isabelle’s gaze.

 “I do.”

 Light streamed out of every single one of the cracks that had broken the devil’s trap, too bright to look, and a high-pitched sound filled the basement. Blaine’s knees gave in, as he tried to protect his ears. It felt like his head was splitting.

 And then, it was gone. It took forever until his eyes had adjusted again to the dim light in the basement. Isabelle had disappeared. Burt Hummel was lying on the ground were the remains of the devil’s trap were chalked into the cracked basement floor. He was breathing.

 Slowly, Blaine looked up at Kurt, afraid of what he would see.

 Kurt was kneeling on the floor. His skin was as pale as snow, as pale as Blaine remembered him. His expression was sharper, his demeanor different. He wasn’t even breathing.

 Blaine had hoped to see the Kurt he knew again, basically from the moment he had realized he was traveling through time. But not like this. Not this version, the new-born vampire ruled by bloodlust. This Kurt was objectively dangerous. And any hope he’d had after the events of the night that this Kurt cared enough about him to spare him had dissolved under the cold realization that he hadn’t been much more than an exotic magic ingredient.

 His thoughts were interrupted by a growl. He gulped, as Kurt slowly turned around and faced him.

 Blaine had never seen him like this. Kurt’s face looked distorted by hunger, his nostrils flared, and his eyes…

  _“It didn’t end well. The boy died.”_

 The second he decided to run, Kurt was on him, throwing him to the ground. His head knocked against the floor, making stars appear in front of his eyes even as the pain surged through him, and he knew so much worse was coming.

Kurt grabbed his head, overstretching his neck and holding him down. Blaine screamed, tried in vain to get away, out, somewhere…

 Fangs pierced through the skin of his throat, and for the second time in his life, his world sank into agony. His own screams filled the basement, echoing, as his whole being seemed to center to the point in his throat where Kurt was biting, his teeth like fire as the life was sucked out of him. But this time, nobody could hear his screams, and this Kurt wouldn’t let him go once a point was made…

 When the darkness closed around him, it was almost merciful.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we go again with the long delay. This time, it was 95% the last scene. Ugh, that scene. I haven't had this much trouble gettingg a scene down in ages. I'm not sure it translated well, but I'm not sure I can get it out better.   
> So, anyway, turns out it will be six parts after all. I do hope the rest will be faster, but no promises.

* * *

Blaine woke to sunlight streaming into the room. It took him a few moments to recognize that he was once more in the Hummels’ guest room, lying in bed. The pain at his throat had subsided, felt more like the residuals of a bruise. Tenderly, Blaine tried to touch the skin there, only to find bandages. 

Someone cleared their throat. As Blaine looked up, he noticed the imposing figure of Burt Hummel sitting at the desk.

 “You’re awake,” the man said.

 “You’re… alive.” Blaine stared at him in disbelief for a moment, until the memories rushed back. Kurt, Isabelle, the deal… He closed his eyes, wishing he could take it back again. So it had worked. Isabelle had brought Kurt’s father back from the dead, and the ache at his throat was proof enough that Kurt had been turned into a vampire. It shouldn’t come as a surprise. It was always going to happen. Then why did it feel like failure?

 “You’re alive as well. And that was a close call,” Burt said.

 Blaine wasn’t too concerned about that. He had a sad amount of experience with various degrees of blood loss. This didn’t feel that life-threatening, compared to former occasions. Slowly, he sat up. He immediately felt dizzy, but he managed to fight down the wave of nausea that hit him. He was used to these symptoms by now, and maybe that in itself was kind of sad.

 Once he felt stable, he looked at Kurt’s father, who was watching him carefully.

 “Where is Kurt?” Blaine asked.

 “Basement,” Burt said. “I locked him up in there.” He sighed, shaking his head, and suddenly Blaine realized how tired he looked. “I’m not quite sure what happened. There was… nothing. And suddenly there’s light, and I see my kid trying to rip someone’s throat out with his teeth…”

 “You died,” Blaine said. It might be blunt, but what was the point of dragging it out. “And Kurt used magic to summon a demon lord and strike a deal. She brought you back to life, in exchange for his soul and service.”

 Burt stared at him as if he had lost his mind. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

 “Kurt is a vampire.”

 He would have expected denial, mocking, anything. Instead, Burt watched him closely, before finally nodding. Maybe he remembered more about his temporary death, or maybe the sight of your child drinking blood was enough to shake preconceived notions about the nature of reality.

 “He barely recognized me,” Burt said instead, “when I pulled him away from you. Is that… is it going to stay like this?”

 Blaine shook his head. “I think the beginning is like a rush. He’ll calm down and have more control. But he’ll have to feed. He can sustain himself off animals. That might even be the smart thing to do right now. It’ll weaken him enough to be controlled until the first blood rush has passed.” 

“How do you know so much about vampires?” Burt asked.

 “I’m very close to one,” Blaine said.

 Burt mustered him, and eventually, he seemed to come to a conclusion. “Tell me. Whatever you know about vampires. Tell me everything.”

 A lot of the things Blaine knew about vampires were things that he had learned from Kurt. There was a certain irony to sharing this information with Kurt’s father, giving it back in a way. He tried to remember everything, every detail he’d gotten from Kurt, Cooper, Quinn, Sue, even Sebastian… Every power, every weakness, how sunlight and holy things were burning, how animal blood could be substituted for human blood, how vampires could create others, weaker vampire spawn, but only demon lord could create the kind of demon Kurt had become.

 “Well… I guess we’ll have to make it work,” Burt said. He looked at Blaine in contemplation, as if there was something else he wanted to ask, but like Kurt years earlier, he wasn’t sure how. Unlike Kurt, he was a lot less shy about it.

 “Is he… can he be alright with this?”

 “What do you mean?” Blaine asked.

 “My son was transformed into a demon. One who has to drink blood to survive. That’s too much to wrap my head around in itself. But… is he going to be okay? Or is he… damned?”

 Blaine sighed. “Look, I can’t tell you details. But Kurt… he’s strong. He’ll have to be, I won’t lie to you. There are a lot of bad things waiting for him. I can’t tell you he won’t suffer. It’s going to be hard. He’ll go through horrible things. He’ll _do_ horrible things. But eventually… he’ll get through it. He won’t lose himself completely. This darkness? He will find his way through it. And he won’t be alone.”

 Burt frowned. “You love him.”

 Blaine shrugged. What was the point of denying it? “I do. I… will. I have… It’s all so confusing. I don’t know where or when my head is, honestly. But yes.”

 “Will you help him?”

 Blaine frowned at that too, absent-mindedly touching where he knew a large bruise was forming. He had survived his first encounter with Kurt as a vampire. But those words were still haunting him. _The boy who vanished_.

 “I won’t always be here,” Blaine said, “I don’t know how long I have, before I get taken again. By the time I can be there for him without disappearing, he’ll have found himself. He won’t need me, not really. But whatever I can do to help him… I will.”

 He wasn’t sure if this was enough, couldn’t imagine if it would be enough for him, but somehow the answer seemed to satisfy Burt Hummel, who nodded.

 “Thank you, Devon.”

 “Blaine.”

 He hadn’t thought about saying it, revealing this piece of information that meant nothing to the man he was talking to.

 “My name is Blaine,” he said, “but you can’t tell him that. He can’t know me under that name, not yet. Please… I just… I wanted someone to know.” Someone to know who he was, if he was going to die anyway…

 “Alright. I’m not saying I understand this, but… well, can’t say I understand most of what’s going on at the moment.”

 The man chuckled, and Blaine joined in. It wasn’t a funny situation they had stumbled into, but somehow right now it almost seemed absurd.

 “One more thing,” Blaine said softly. “Can I see him?”

 Burt looked at him with raised eyebrows. “Are you sure you’re up for that?”

 He wasn’t, but it felt like something he had to do. He felt strangely resigned. He had cut through so much denial to realize that his feelings were love, only to have Kurt try to kill him. He wondered if he should be upset about this, if it should change anything. But Blaine realized it hadn’t been personal. The hunger had just been too much. He wasn’t sure what he’d encounter if he saw the vampire right now. But still…

 “I have to see him,” Blaine said.

 Burt was clearly skeptical, but he nodded. He helped Blaine stand up, and for a moment, all the dizziness returned. Blaine felt his knees give in, and he fell back onto the bed.

 “I think you might want to lie down a bit more,” Burt said. “I’ll get you something to eat. You can go and see him later.”

 “Thank you,” Blaine said. As he heard the man’s footsteps go down the stairs, he closed his eyes, trying to fight down the nausea and dizziness. The whole world seemed to spin around him. He opened his eyes again, only to find the ceiling spinning as well. The lamp above him seemed to erupt in…

 No. Not again. _No!_

 From the ceiling, the vortex returned. His instincts told him to get away, even though on some level he knew it was hopeless. Right now, his body wouldn’t obey him anyway. All he could do was lie back, close his eyes and wait to be taken.

 

* * *

 

“That’s it!”

 Quinn’s voice sounded slightly distorted, coming from the laptop, but she seemed confident, her words dispelling the fog around Kurt’s mind.

 “You found a way?” Cooper asked.

 “Well, we found out how the brotherhood managed to unlock the more powerful properties within the artefacts of gods,” Jesse explained, “although you could argue that gods in this case doesn’t exactly mean creators of the universe, but rather…” He stopped. “Something you have absolutely no interest right now.”

 “Wait, he could already use it,” Tina said, pointing at Sebastian.

 “And I totally knew what I was doing,” the other vampire said, rolling his eyes.

 “We don’t want to send another person spiraling through time,” Quinn said, “we want to find a specific person and drag them back. And there might actually be a way. We first thought we’d have to use the vortex, when instead we need to influence the world. We have to find Blaine at a certain point in time, lock him in with the wand’s powers, and then pull him to us. The Brotherhood found a way to use the wand like this.”

 “Demons. You have to use a demon as a focus,” Jesse interrupted, as if eager to get some of the credit.

 “Demons? Do vampires count?” Sebastian asked.

 “What, Feivel, volunteering?” Santana sneered.

 “Uh… no? I’m volunteering Princess here,” Sebastian said, pointing at Kurt. “ _He’s_ the one who ki… is in love with the siren.”

 Kurt couldn’t meet his eyes, although he couldn’t help but feel a bit of gratitude for how the other vampire wasn’t willing to throw him under the bus completely.

 “I’ll do it,” he said. He still wasn’t convinced there was a way to change history. But if there was something they could try, even the slightest chance of saving Blaine… “Whatever it is. I’ll do it.”

 Jesse’s expression was full of pity. “You can’t, though. Sorry. Vampires do _not_ count.”

 “We’re talking about actual demons from the hell dimensions,” Quinn explained. “The gods – whatever they were – were beings from another dimension. The whole point is that to unlock their true powers, you need something from out of this world. And while vampires are a form of demon, you are very much of this world.”

 Yes, that sounded more like it.

 “So, you’re saying we need to summon a demon?” Cooper asked. He sounded unhappy about it, but right now, Kurt believed that he would do it.

 “We are _not_ summoning a demon!” Schuster protested.

 “How would we even do that?” Santana asked.

 “Well…” Jesse began, but was interrupted.

  “It’s _not_ happening!” Schuster shouted. “Are you honestly telling me a random demon is going to help us break the laws of nature anyway?”

 “Ideally, it would be a demon that has a connection to Blaine. It would improve our odds at least,” Quinn said. “And Cooper, you have to realize – there are odds. This is not a sure thing, it’s just the best chance we can give him.”

 Kurt’s mind was racing. Yes, summoning a demon was the easiest way to get hold of a creature from another world. But a connection? He tried to think back of a demon that Blaine had some sort of connection with. The boy was a magnet for trouble, there had to be something… but apart from himself and Sebastian, he couldn’t think of a specific demon. Sure, Amalthea, the erisian demon would count, but she was dead, as were the Eerie. The trickster demon had escaped, but Kurt wasn’t sure how they could get hold of her, or if that would even count. Either way, tricksters were massively powerful. Now that he thought about it, most creatures that had attacked Blaine hadn’t survived the encounter. Maybe that was part of the reason the boy wasn’t as afraid of the supernatural as he should be. Hell, he’d even gone head to head with the Faerie Queen over the fate of…

 And suddenly, he realized.

 “Brittany.”

 “Vampire dolphin,” the faery answered, looking at him as if those words made an inkling of sense.

 “No, I mean… Brittany is from another dimension,” Kurt said. “And she has a connection to Blaine. She possessed him once. She could be the focus.”

 “Whoa, wait a second here,” Santana interrupted, “nobody’s using my girlfriend for anything! What does this focus thing even mean?”

 “Santana, calm down,” Quinn said. “This wouldn’t hurt Brittany. She would function as a conduit. It could work… Brittany, would you do it?”

 For a second, the girl looked into the air as if she was pondering a serious question. Kurt waited, every fiber of his being tense, for her answer.

 “Can vampire dolphins only come up to the surface at night? Isn’t that a long time to hold your breath?”

 Santana stroked a hand through her hair. “Britt? Could we focus on the ritual thing?”

 Brittany frowned. “Is it ready yet? I guess we can do that now.”

 “No, we still have to prepare,” Quinn said, “but will you do it?”

 Brittany looked at her in confusion. “Well, sure.”

 “Alright, people. There are a lot of things to set up,” Quinn said. “And stay focused. We have exactly one shot to do this.”

 “What do you mean?” Cooper asked.

 “We have to drag him out from a point where the timeline won’t be damaged,” Quinn said, “and there has to be some distance to the vortex. So basically, we have to drag him away while he’s dying. Do you guys remember how that happened?”

 “He got sucked dry by a vampire,” Sebastian said immediately. “And it was _not_ me.”

 “Then that’s the time window we’ll have to hit,” Quinn said. “Alright, let’s get ready.”

 Even from the monitor, Quinn managed to direct everyone with an ease reminding of Sue herself. Kurt wasn’t sure why he didn’t feel more motivated to act. He should be thrilled. It sounded like an actual glimmer of hope, a chance to save Blaine’s life. But it wasn’t enough to fight off the memories. He had known that he’d killed the boy who vanished, but the memory had been too dim, faded for him to actually connect with it. But now, there was a face to it, Blaine’s face, and Blaine’s voice desperately shouting the Hail Mary even as his life was drawn from him. He wasn’t sure he could ever be forgiven for this.

 “I’m getting sick of your self-pity.”

 He looked up, only to find himself once more face to face with Cooper. The shock from earlier had faded, replaced by grim determination.

 “We will get him back.”

 “Those aren’t exactly good odds,” Kurt said softly. “Listen…”

 “No, you listen.” Cooper’s voice could have cut glass at this moment. “I’m done with your attitude. I’m sure you’re drowning in guilt, but guess what, we don’t have time for this. I need you to get over yourself for a freaking minute. Or however long this takes. But we will do everything in our power to get Blaine back. I’ve promised to protect him. I’ve been keeping him safe from demons since he was three months old. And trust me on this, as long as I can breathe, there’s no chance I’ll let any demon, and _especially_ you hurt my baby brother, no matter how many laws of the universe I have to break. So, you will get over yourself, and you will help me get him back.” Then, his voice softened just a fraction. “And don’t worry. If it doesn’t work… if we actually lost him… if you _killed_ my brother… I’ll put that stake through your heart myself before sunrise.” 

It sounded more like a promise than a threat.

 “Alright,” Kurt said. This, he could work with.

 

* * *

 

Once the swirling stopped, once the impact of stone floor hit him, Blaine doubled over, heaving. There was nothing in his stomach but bile, but even that he couldn’t keep in, too overwhelmed by blood loss and the spinning of magic around him. He collapsed into himself, just wishing for it all to be over. 

Again, there were footsteps. Someone turned him around, made him lie down on his back. A cool hand touched his forehead, a relief against the headache forming inside.

 “Devon… are you awake?”

 He blinked his eyes open and was met with Kurt’s face. It was just the way he remembered from his time, and fortunately, there was no trace of hunger in it. He wanted to nod, but he couldn’t move.

 “You’re hurt,” Kurt said softly.

 There had to be words somewhere inside his head, but he couldn’t form them. As his eyes drifted shut, he could feel Kurt’s arms lifting him up, carrying him. It felt oddly comfortable, to be held like this, not having to worry at all – not that he could right now. Eventually, he drifted off to sleep. 

When he woke up again, it was dark outside. He was lying in a bed, and as he opened his eyes and looked around, he noticed that the room didn’t seem familiar. There were a few shelves filled with books, a desk, and in a chair in front of it sat Kurt.

 On some level Blaine wondered whether he should be afraid, whether the vampire was going to attack him again. But somehow, he couldn’t muster up the fear.

 “You’re awake,” Kurt said, his voice just as soft as it had been earlier. He slowly stood up, and walked up to the bedside, his movements carefully calculated as if he was approaching a frightened animal. Blaine sat up slowly, relieved that he didn’t experience the nauseating dizziness from earlier. Kurt hovered in front of the bed, not sure how to proceed. Whatever he was thinking of, there was no sign of aggression within him. Blaine thought about it for a moment, then he shifted to the side to make room.

 Kurt looked at him in surprise but accepted the unspoken invitation and sat down on the bed.

 “How do you feel?”

 “Better,” Blaine answered. “How long was I…”

 “You slept all day,” Kurt said. “You must have been really exhausted. I’ve never seen you so pale. I was really worried there.”

 Blaine shrugged. “I’ve had worse,” he said. “I was just exhausted.” He wasn’t sure just why he was trying to protect Kurt’s feelings, but maybe that had become an instinct.

 Kurt looked at him probingly, as if he didn’t quite believe it. But he didn’t question him further.

 “I’m sorry,” he said. “For everything. I hurt you, back then. I didn’t even know what I was doing. There was just…”

 “Hunger,” Blaine finished. “I understand the concept. Nothing personal.” Nothing special.

 “I’m also sorry for before,” Kurt said, now even more quietly. “I know what it looks like. Like I was just using you for the spell. But… that wasn’t all. I do care about you. I couldn’t have done… that. Not with anybody else. Once I found out about what I needed to do for the ritual, I thought it could never happen. And then, you just… you were there, right when I needed you, in a full moon night, and it just… it seemed like a sign.”

 It was supposed to help, but it really wasn’t. “You should have learned the lesson from Rachel. If I’m a sign, then apparently a sign that the plan is an awful idea.”

 Kurt looked at him in confusion. “It worked out for me,” he said. “I’m so sorry about what happened to Rachel. But that had nothing to do with you. Magic can be dangerous. She had to learn it. I had to learn it… Mercedes, too.” A shadow passed over his face, but his expression was unreadable. And here Blaine thought he’d figured out how to read Kurt most of the time. But maybe it hadn’t just been that he’d gone better at reading him, maybe his Kurt had also learned to open up to him.

 “You think this is working out?” Blaine asked. “You’re a vampire.”

 “It’s not so bad,” Kurt said. “I wasn’t a fan of getting a tan even before this. My culinary choices have narrowed, sure. But my father is alive, I actually got him back. I think that’s worth it.”

 “What about the people you feed from?” Blaine asked.

 “I drink animal blood,” Kurt said. His face looked so expressionless that it had to be a mask.

 “Exclusively?” Blaine asked, raising an eyebrow raised.

 Kurt looked taken aback at the question, which was enough of an answer.

 “I wouldn’t hurt you,” he said instead.

  _But you will_. Blaine had to look away, to stop these words from spilling out. “It’s not about me,” he said instead.

 Kurt sighed, shaking his head. “Look, it is what it is. I’m a vampire now, it can’t be changed. I have to make the best of it.”

 “What’s that, though?” Blaine asked, meeting his eyes again. “What do you think is the best of it?”

 Kurt looked at him, and there was no mask left. “I don’t know. I have no idea of what I’m going to do, what I should do. I try not to drink from people. But it’s just so… you have no idea what it feels like. It’s overwhelming, it’s _everything_.”

 “It’s people dying,” Blaine said softly.

 Kurt avoided his eyes. “It’s very hard to remember that.”

 Blaine sighed. He knew he couldn’t change anything. He couldn’t save Kurt from his future of murder and bloodbath, and he couldn’t save any of his victims. All he could hope was to find the right words and hope that at some point in the future Kurt would remember them.

 “They’re people, Kurt. With dreams, and hopes, and fears. People with family, who’ll be devastated by the loss, like you were. I know that won’t mean much when you’re overwhelmed by the blood. But please, Kurt… try to remember it. What it does to people.”

 “To you?” Kurt asked.

 Blaine nodded. “To me. Please remember.”

 “Why do you care?” Kurt asked.

 “I believe in you,” Blaine said. “The best version of yourself. The one you can be. _Will_ be.”

 Kurt was looking for something in his eyes. Whatever it was, he seemed to have found it. Slowly, he nodded. “I will remember you,” he said. “I could never forget you.”

 He would, of course. A few decades down the line, Kurt wouldn’t recognize Blaine’s face, not even the taste of his blood, and that had to be even worse when concerning vampires.

 “You should get some more rest,” Kurt said, completely changing the subject. “Whatever happened to you, you look pretty banged up.”

 As Kurt left the room, Blaine wondered if the vampire even realized that these were the injuries he’d caused, or if that too was forgotten. He couldn’t even sort out his own head, on the one hand, there was Kurt, the vampire that he’d come to love, whose dark past he’d heard about, and then there was _this_ Kurt, who had all those horrible things in front of him, who’d almost killed him – might still finish the job in the future – and had so much growing to do until he became the person Blaine knew. How could he make sense of it all? How could he sort out his feelings that had only just begun to make sense to him in the first place?

 How was he supposed to not break over this?

 He closed his eyes, wishing desperately not having to think anymore. But as exhausted as he felt, it was an eternity, until he sank back into sleep.

 

* * *

 

The next time Blaine woke, it was light outside again, dim as it was. Slowly, he got up, and looked at himself in the mirror. He was about as messed up as he’d expected. His hair was messy, and any remains of gel were long gone. There were still bandages on his throat. When he removed them, he found a dark, purple bruise underneath that barely showed signs of healing. It hadn’t been that long, he reminded himself. He was paler than he was used to from his own reflection, the blood not quite regenerated. At least he had recovered enough so he didn’t get dizzy by just standing up. It also felt like the first time in forever that he actually had a moment to think.

 He couldn’t go on like this. He was still confused, still not quite sure what he should be doing. From what Sebastian had said, he wouldn’t survive this. But what did that mean? Was he just supposed to lie down and wait for death? Were there still things that he needed to do before dying? Was there a difference he could make?

 What did Sebastian know, anyway? All he’d said was that the boy died. Not that he’d seen it, not the details of the death. For all Blaine knew, Sebastian was just going on something Kurt told him. Maybe at some point he’d be swept away by the vortex to never return, and Kurt had just assumed him dead. He had way too little information to just lie down and die. That wasn’t him. He’d learned to fight, to not give up. The events of the last… days? They’d been too fast, had left him confused. The time travel, Rachel being dragged to hell, sleeping with a human Kurt, the transformation, the feeding… and through it all the vortex, the blood loss, not to mention the emotional toll…

 No. He wouldn’t let this break him. Maybe he’d die, maybe everything he was doing was pointless. But if that was the case, nothing he did or didn’t do would make things worse. And if there was just the tiniest chance of getting out of this alive, of finding his way back to his own time? Well, then he’d be damned if he didn’t do whatever was in his power to find it.

 Calmer than he’d felt since this whole thing started, Blaine decided to leave the room. He realized that not only had the room been unfamiliar, the whole house was. It was not only smaller, but it also seemed less lived in. Curious, he made his way downstairs. At the dining table, he found Kurt’s father.

 The man looked up when he heard Blaine approaching. He looked older, although Blaine couldn’t have said how many years. What was left of his hair had gone white, and his face seemed more creased than Blaine remembered. For a moment, he wondered whether time or worries had caused these changes.

 “You’re awake,” Burt said. “And still haven’t vanished.”

 Blaine shrugged. “It’s my thing, apparently.”

 Burt chuckled, before telling him to sit down and have something to eat.

 “I guess I missed breakfast,” Blaine said.

 “Try lunch,” Burt replied. “It’s four in the afternoon.”

 Blaine raised his eyebrows. It was longer than expected. But he wasn’t quite surprised that his body had demanded rest after the events of the last few days. His stomach reminded him that it had been quite some time since he’d eaten, and he gratefully accepted the food put in front of him.

 “So, what happened?” Blaine asked eventually. “I think I missed a few years. The house is… new?”

 Burt nodded. “We couldn’t exactly stay in Lima. I died, after all, and you can’t just appear two weeks after your own funeral without getting questions. Besides, Kurt wasn’t exactly safe around people… We tried for a bit, both of us hiding. Kurt’s friend Mercedes helped us. But she… she died. That was about the last tie we had to this place. So we left, taking all the money we had, and came to Westerville. We needed to start new, somewhere people didn’t know us.”

 He didn’t exactly sound happy about any of this.

 Blaine hesitated, before he asked the question he really wanted the answer to.

 “Do you think it was worth it?”

 Burt looked at him in surprise, but then he seemed to really think about the answer.

 “Before, I was dead. I don’t remember what it was like. And now? For everyone except for Kurt, it’s as if I actually was dead. And he’s glad to have me back. But for what price? He’s not the same. The vampire thing, it’s changed him too much. And I know he tries to be strong, and not become a monster. He’s trying to drink from animals. But I know he slips up. He’s killed people, and it’s happening more often. He’s also becoming more… callous. Less empathetic. I should be grateful he’d risk so much to save my life. But sometimes I think I’d rather have him live his life for the best, instead of destroying himself to buy me a few more years of… this.”

 Blaine nodded slowly. It was what he’d expected. And even though he realized there was a point to it, that he himself had profited from Kurt being a vampire and present in his timeline, at this point, it all seemed so… senseless.

 “But either way, it can’t be changed now,” Burt said with a shrug. “He’s still my son. Nothing’s ever going to change that.”

 It was such a strange concept. Blaine didn’t even speak to his parents anymore. He was cut off completely, wouldn’t even know what to do if it wasn’t for Cooper. The idea that his parents would choose to stand up for him, just because he was their son, had turned out to be less realistic than faeries and vampires. For a moment, he wondered if he should put it in words, make Burt Hummel see just how special that was. But what would it even mean, coming from a complete stranger?

 “He should wake up any minute now,” Burt said, interrupting his thoughts. As Blaine looked up, he realized it had already gotten dark. “Kurt will be excited to hear you haven’t vanished yet. And you do have quite the timing.”

 “What do you mean, timing?” Blaine asked.

 Burt shrugged. “There’s a festival on,” he explained. “A lot of drunk people around. I’m not too sorry that Kurt has a distraction on nights like this.”

 The implication was clear, although Blaine wasn’t sure whether he was too thrilled about being the distraction that would keep Kurt off the streets around vulnerable people. Then again, one could make an excellent point that the whole situation was his fault in the first place.

 From outside, Blaine could hear people yelling. A lot of drunk people… No, he could see why it wouldn’t be the best idea to have a vampire with a less than secure moral compass around them.

 As he considered that, he could hear the basement door open, and before he could prepare himself, Kurt came into view.

 He looked calm, without a trace of hunger, and that at least was reassuring. As Burt had predicted, his face lit up when his eyes fell on Blaine.

 “I was so sure you’d be gone by the time I wake up,” he said.

 Blaine shrugged, surprised how warm he felt at Kurt’s reaction. Even if he’d be forgotten, maybe he mattered for now.

 “I don’t really know how it works, to be honest,” he said. “I don’t know what makes the vortex appear, or how it decides to bring me back.”

 “Magic,” Kurt said softly. “It’s unpredictable, isn’t it?” He sighed. “I wish I could help you with it. But I haven’t actually practiced magic. Not since Mercedes….” He stopped, unable to continue.

 “The Sisters,” Blaine said nodding.

 Kurt stared at him in confusion. “No, she was taken by monsters. They killed her, in a ritual.”

 “The Sisters,” Blaine said. “They’re called the Eerie. I’m sorry you couldn’t save her.”

 “Have you met them?” Kurt asked, surprised.

 Blaine nodded. “Once. I’m lucky I survived.”

 “Luck seems to be on your side,” Burt mentioned.

 Blaine chuckled. “Sometimes,” he said. It was true. He was unusually lucky, surviving as many threats as he had so far. He could only hope that luck would save him once more.

 “We’ll figure out what to do,” Kurt said. “Maybe I can get in contact with Lady Isabelle, she could help you?”

 It was obvious from Burt’s expression just how little he thought of that idea. Surprisingly, Kurt sounded fond of the demon lord. The few times Blaine remembered hearing her name before, Kurt had sounded apprehensive at best. More importantly, Blaine wasn’t sure he wanted her attention. When she’d seen him, she had given a clear vibe that he was of no use to her anymore.

 Before he could say anything to this effect, someone was banging at the door. As Blaine turned his head, he could hear the sound of glass breaking. Men were outside, shouting something, then laughing.

 It was unnerving, but not as much as the change he could see in Kurt. In just a second, the demon in him had woken. His eyes seemed sharp, his nostrils flared as if he was trying to catch the scent of blood from outside the door. Hardly anything changed objectively, and yet he suddenly looked like a predator.

 “Let it go,” Burt said. His voice was strict, not allowing protest. “Just some drunk idiots. Stay where you are.”

 Blaine realized that Burt wasn’t afraid of whoever was outside. He was more worried about what Kurt might do to them.

 The noise outside didn’t stop though. Blaine thought he could figure out about at least four different voices, all men, clearly all drunk. There was more glass breaking, and more shouting. Every second, Kurt seemed to tense up even more. Blaine felt his own pulse speed up, the hair at the back of his neck stand up. Objectively he knew, there was no danger. Just a couple of drunk idiots outside, nothing that could threaten him. But surviving in Sunnydale almost required developing a sixth sense for danger, and right now? He had a very bad feeling about this.

“I’ll make them leave,” Kurt said.

 “You’ll do no such thing,” Burt replied. “Go downstairs and stay there. We don’t want trouble.”

 “Well, they do,” Kurt replied, his eyes darting to the direction of the noise. The hunger was getting more obvious, even as the noise outside got louder.

 “Let’s just go,” Blaine said. On an instinct, he took a hold of Kurt’s arm, hoping to calm him down. But of course, his influence at this point in time wasn’t quite what he was used to.

 This time, the sound of shattering glass was too loud, to close, and immediately, the voices from outside were clearer. Blaine’s eyes widened as he realized a window must have broken. There was another crash. Quickly, Blaine pulled at Kurt’s arm, trying to drag him away from this situation that could not end well. But the vampire didn’t think of leaving, and Blaine wasn’t strong enough to make him budge against his will.

 “Downstairs!” Burt hissed at his son. This also failed to make an impact on Kurt.

 “Hummel!”

 Blaine felt frozen in fear as he watched the scene unfold. There were four men that had entered the house, middle-aged, and clearly beyond drunk. Two of them held bottles, one only the jagged remains of one, as if he’d smashed it against something and only kept the bottle neck intact.

 Burt Hummel stood up, and Blaine was actually impressed. He wasn’t sure if the man was a natural actor or if he really was as calm and in control as he pretended.

 “What are you doing in here?” he asked.

 “We’re putting an end to your killer son!” It was one of the men yelling, the one with the broken bottle.

 “We know you killed Tanaka!” another one of them yelled. He wasn’t talking to Burt though, his eyes were fixed on the vampire behind him.

 Blaine wished there’d be a denial. Instead, Kurt hissed at the man.

 “Leave my son out of this,” Burt said. “He hasn’t done anything, Howell.”

 “Bullshit! Everyone knows he’s creeping around. Everyone knows people go missing since you and your freak son showed up here. Of course, it’s him!”

“And we’re done standing for it!” The man with the bottle, their leader apparently, had seemed to have lost the little patience he’d had. He rushed forward, as if to attack Kurt.

 Time seemed to slow down and speed up at the same time. It was as if Blaine could see everything happening in slow-motion, while not being able to move a muscle. He could see Burt Hummel stepping forward, between the man and his son, more to protect the drunkard from attacking a vampire. He could see the man raising the broken bottle, just too fast, just too strongly, and then…

 Blood.

 A gurgle fell from Burt’s lips as he tumbled backwards, a cut in his throat and blood spurting out. Blaine jumped forward, trying pointlessly to stop his body from falling, and going down with it. Burt gasped, his eyes widening almost comically, as his body went limp. There was a blur of movement, and when Blaine looked up, he could see Kurt on top of the attacker. As the bottle fell to the ground, shattering completely, Blaine could hear a sickening sound, wet, crunchy, as Kurt tore at the man’s head, twisting it.

 There was screaming, and Blaine couldn’t even tell who it was coming from – Kurt, the men attacking, maybe himself? But he could see Kurt burying his head into the man’s throat, and then looking up, his mouth stained with blood.

 The other men looked pale, panicked, and who could blame them? But Kurt fixed them with a murderous glare, and suddenly Blaine realized just how much blood was about to be shed. As Kurt moved from his first victim, Blaine jumped to his feet, and threw himself at the vampire before he could grab one of the other men. Kurt turned to him, his face a mask of rage, and Blaine felt terrified. The next moment, he felt himself flying backwards, and once more crashing against a wall. He could just see the last of the men running outside as he sunk to the floor. For a moment, Kurt seemed to be conflicted on where to turn – to follow the men, to go after Blaine once more – but eventually, he ended up turning to the fallen body of his father, kneeling down beside him.

 Slowly, Blaine got to his feet. He was terrified of what he was going to see, although he didn’t have much doubt of what to expect. Burt’s eyes were wide open, as was the gash on his throat. The spurts of blood Blaine thought he’d seen just for a few moments had stopped. For a second, hope rose inside him that maybe he’d overestimated the injury at first. But when he looked closer, he realized the reality. There were no spurts – because there was no heartbeat.

 How had things gone so wrong in just a few moments?

 After what felt like an eternity, Blaine tenderly put a hand onto Kurt’s shoulder. Almost every instinct screamed at him to stay away, that the pain and grief might be too much for Kurt’s vampire mind to handle right now. But there was the little voice inside his heart that couldn’t abandon Kurt even at risk to himself.

 Kurt didn’t turn around, at first he didn’t even show a sign that he noticed Blaine’s presence.

 “Kurt… I’m so sorry…” Blaine said eventually, unable to bear the silence.

 “You should be,” Kurt said. His voice sounded strange. Blaine would have expected anger, or pain, not this weird detachment. “It’s your fault they got away.”

 Blaine jerked back, suddenly very aware of how alone he was.

 Now, Kurt did turn around. His face showed the pain clearly, but also just a hint of sadness.

 “I won’t hurt you,” he said softly. “But you should never have tried to step in.”

 “Your dad wouldn’t want you to-“

 “He’s dead!” And there was the anger. “They _killed_ him, Devon! And how am I supposed to bring him back now? I don’t have a soul to trade anymore! Will you give up yours?” He looked at him probingly, but then shook his head. “Of course not.”

 “I know he wouldn’t want you to kill them.”

 “It doesn’t matter what he’d want,” Kurt hissed. “He’s _dead_!”

 Again, Kurt turned to his father’s body. In a surprisingly human gesture, he closed Burt’s eyelids, taking a moment before he nodded and stood up. When he looked at Blaine, something had closed off in his face.

 “They will pay. I was wrong. I thought I could live like a human, and look how that worked out. You see… Isabelle was right. I’m not human. It’s time I realize what I am.”

 This was it then. This was the day Kurt would turn away from humanity, not to return to himself for decades. Blaine knew this was going to happen, that it had to happen. It didn’t stop his heart from breaking.

 “You don’t have to do this, Kurt. You’re not a monster. You can be so much more than this.”

 “I am more than human,” Kurt replied. “My dad was the only thing that connected me to humanity. There’s nothing left.”

 “There’s me,” Blaine said, hating how desperate his voice sounded, especially since he knew it wouldn’t make a difference.

 Kurt stared at him, as if he was actually thinking about this. Eventually, he stepped forward. He put a hand on Blaine’s cheek, smearing it with half-dried blood, as he leaned in and captured his lips in a kiss.

 Blaine opened up on instinct, as Kurt pulled him closed. He recoiled, once his brain caught up, recognizing the taste of copper, of blood inside his mouth. Kurt’s hand stayed on his cheek, like an anchor, but his face fell, closing off completely.

 “My boy who vanished,” Kurt muttered. “I’m sorry. I will remember you.” He turned, and without a glance back, ran out of the house.

 Blaine was left standing there beside Burt’s corpse, the taste of blood mixing with rising bile inside his mouth. Somewhere, faintly, he could hear the swirling sounds that announced the return of the vortex. It hit him once more, brutally, but this time, he couldn’t find it in himself to even care, as long as it took him away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The "Brittany posessing Blaine" thing is one of the "unwritten" parts of this verse. From the beginning, I thought up a lot of little adventures, most of which I knew I'd never get around to writing, and had the characters reference them in an attempt to make it seem a bit bigger.   
> The short version is, a portal to the Fae world opened and Brittany escaped through it, curious about the human world. But through the nature of the portal, only her mind could escape and she ended up posessing Blaine's body. Eventually, the Faery Queen showed up to bring back her lost sheep and separatedd Brittany from Blaine again. She was about to drag Brittany back to the Faery world, even though she didn't want to go after developing a crush on Santana. Blaine stood up to the Faery Queen and she eventually decided to banish Brittany to the human world instead, where she's stayed ever since.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we are, full circle. I had to check on when I started this verse, and wow. Four years - most of them spent on break between installments - but still, a long time to spend on what started out as a random idea.  
> Thanks to all you guys who kept reading these stories, I very much appreciate it. Writing this story, especially the last one, has been challenging, but rewarding, and I hope you enjoy this last installment.

* * *

“This is it then,” Cooper said.

“It’s our best shot,” Quinn explained through the monitor, observing the setup. Brittany was sitting cross-legged on the floor, an elaborate magical circle painted around her and a small bench in front of her that held various bowls with herbs and… other material to be burnt. Cooper knelt in front of her, a ritual knife in his hand and ready to slice open his thumb, using his blood as another piece of conduit.

 “We need as many points of connections as we can build,” Quinn explained. “Anything to give us an edge.”

 They’d used everything they could think of. Cooper’s blood would help as a conduit because of their blood relation, of course. Both Kurt and Sebastian had to sacrifice a bit of hair, both being present at the time of Blaine’s death and as vampires unable to give blood. Even Will Schuster had donated a few drops of blood, seeing how his father had been at the scene as well.

 “Can anyone think of anything else?” Cooper asked, looking around. “Any connection, as flimsy as it might be?”

 “You said he died praying,” Jesse said. “What prayer again?”

 “The Hail Mary,” Cooper said the same moment Kurt did.

 Jesse nodded. “Right, so once Tina and I start the spell, how about you just keep saying the Hail Mary.”

 Copper chuckled, although there was no humor in it. “I’ll manage. Any other ideas?”

 “One more thing,” Kurt said. He was surprised how level his voice sounded, as he took out the pouch he was wearing around his neck and gave it to Cooper.

 Confused, Cooper opened it and took out the necklace inside. Recognition flashed over his face.

 “That was our grandmother’s,” he said. “I gave that to Blaine ages ago.”

 “He wore it that night,” Kurt said. “Could that improve the focus?”

 “Definitely,” Quinn said. “Hold onto it, Cooper.”

 “Alright then,” the Slayer said, looking around. “Let’s do this. This is our one shot.”

 As Jesse and Tina started chanting and lighting the bowls, Cooper started praying. Kurt found himself almost bursting with fear. This was the only chance they had. It had to work. In a flash of steel, Cooper cut open his finger, and as the first drop of blood landed on the herbs, there appeared a disk of swirling purple and black energy.

 The vortex had opened.

 

* * *

 

 

The vortex once more filled his world. As Blaine was thrown around within its swirls, he almost thought that its patterns were becoming more erratic, as if it was slowly falling out of the little control there was.

 And once more, he could hear another voice, calling for help. Someone else had to be trapped in here. The voice was getting closer, a woman’s voice. Through the swirling, Blaine could just make out a silhouette. He reached out, trying to touch whoever it was. For a second, his fingers found another hand, and then…

 His back hit the ground as the vortex disappeared around him. Rain fell on him instantly, a flash of lightning blinded him, almost immediately followed by thunder, too soon and too loud for comfort. As Blaine scrambled to his feet, he could hear voices shouting, one female, several male. He looked around, trying to figure out where in the world he had landed now.

 It looked like a construction site, mostly level with several holes in the ground and just the skeleton of building walls. The lamps on the neighboring streets only threw weak light onto the site, but it was enough. In the middle of the construction site, Blaine could saw two people fighting. One of them was a young woman, her blond hair pulled up in a ponytail. It only took him a second to recognize her opponent as Kurt. Another man was there, lying on the ground and holding his shoulder as if he was injured. Finally, Blaine noticed two more figures leaning against one of the few standing walls. Sebastian, and another man Blaine didn’t recognize. From the stories he’d heard, it had to be Hunter. And looking back, Blaine realized who this young woman had to be, that was confidently holding her own while fighting a vampire.

 Holly Holiday, the Slayer that Kurt killed, or rather probably would kill any moment now. And lying on the ground was Will Schuster’s father.

 Blaine had started moving involuntarily. He didn’t know who Holly Holiday was, only that she was like Cooper, risking her own life to keep the world safer. He couldn’t possibly sit by and watch her get murdered. But even as he stepped forward, a punch connected with Kurt’s face. A second later, Holly had him down on the ground, the stake was raised in her hand, and suddenly Blaine found himself running for a different reason. He hadn’t even considered that this fight might take a different outcome. Holly’s hand was crushing Kurt’s throat, and Blaine was shouting, suddenly terrified of the thought that there actually could be a change, that Kurt could die here and now, and then… what then?

 On the edge of his vision, he realized that Schuster stared at him, then Sebastian and Hunter, and for just a second, Holly.

 Sometimes, a second was all it took.

 In the one moment she hesitated, Kurt flipped them over. The stake was torn out of Holly’s hand, and then…

 Her scream echoed over the construction site, joined by Schuster’s yell of “Holly!”, and Blaine had to watch helplessly as the stake was rammed into Holly Holiday’s heart.

 For a moment, everything seemed silent..

 As if he was standing beside himself, he could see Kurt stand up and look around in slight confusion, until their eyes met. Before Blaine could even think about running, a hand grabbed his arm.

 “Now what do we have here?” a voice said near his ear. Sebastian, still with that curious lilt in his voice, embodiment of the cat that had caught a bird, more interested in the game than the kill.

 “Some fresh blood,” Hunter said, slowly walking over to them. “A victory snack, how nice.” There was something detached, cruel in his gaze, and Blaine started to feel worried.

 “Get your hands off him, Smythe!” Kurt’s voice cut through the silence.

 To Blaine’s surprise, Sebastian complied. “I’ll let it slide this time, just for slaying the Slayer, but watch your tone.”

 Kurt didn’t even seem to listen as he walked closer, his eyes laser-focused on Blaine’s. There was a coldness in his face that Blaine wasn’t used to, like he didn’t even see him as human at the moment.

 “What about the watcher?” Hunter asked, but Kurt ignored him too.

 “Oh, who cares about Watchers anyway?” Sebastian asked. “Let him crawl away.”

 Blaine shuddered, not sure whether it was the words, the cold rain pelting down on him, or the way Kurt looked at him as he stalked closer. He risked one look back at Sebastian, but there was only curious amusement in his eyes. Kurt had reached them now, grabbing Blaine at his neck and looking at him with a glare, and in a flash, bright as the lightning crashing around them, Blaine understood.

 This was it. He would die right here.

 “Devon,” Kurt said, and again, Blaine felt the impulse to shout out his real name, but he knew he couldn’t. “My boy who vanished. You do have the strangest timing.”

 “That’s him then?” Sebastian asked. “Huh, you do have taste.”

 “Shut up!” Kurt hissed.

 “Your conscience,” Hunter mused. “Not really something a vampire needs.”

 “What are you doing here?” Kurt asked.

 Blaine shook his head. This was a Kurt he couldn’t connect to. This was it, the pinnacle of the killer, the one who had killed off his humanity almost completely. He could deal with the newborn, or with a more detached vampire, would do almost anything to get back to the vampire with a conscience he had come to love. But this was Kurt at his darkest point. The killer, the monster he’d been warned about, the thing Schuster saw in him. There would be no mercy from him.

 Kurt’s grip around him changed, turned softer. Blaine felt a thumb stroke over his cheek, and for a moment he could fool himself that it would be okay, that the tenderness was real. But when he looked into Kurt’s eyes, all hopes were crushed. There was no warmth, not even amusement, just cold.

 “You always show up at times of change,” Kurt said, his voice soft. “Losing Rachel, my rebirth, my father’s death… and now, tonight. Did you know it’s a special night? We went up against the Chosen One, and we defeated her. And once more, you’re here, as I take the last step of coming into my power.” He chuckled, and it might be the scariest thing Blaine had ever heard. “The boy who vanished. That little voice at the back of my head, speaking of humanity… and now you’re all that’s left. My last tie to that world…”

 “Then he’s all that’s holding you back,” Hunter said. “All that’s in the way of you and your true nature. Just look how far you’ve come already – you’ve slain a slayer. Now think how much farther you can go if you… let go.”

 There was a snort behind him. Apparently, Sebastian thought the short speech about as ridiculous as Blaine did. But that didn’t matter. What mattered was Kurt’s reaction. And Kurt looked at him in contemplation. He stroked a finger over the bruises on Blaine’s throat. Maybe he remembered when he put them there, or maybe that too was a vain hope.

 Softly, Kurt pulled him closer, up until he was on the tips of his toes. His grip tightened around the back of Blaine’s head, pulling slightly and stretching his neck, baring his throat.

 “Let go of the past,” Kurt said softly. “It sounds nice.”

 Blaine closed his eyes. “Don’t,” he warned softly, although he knew it wouldn’t help.

 “We don’t listen to prey,” Hunter said.

 “My last tie,” Kurt mused, the air coming from his mouth ghosting over the skin on Blaine’s throat. “My first blood…”

 There was nothing he could do to stop this. Blaine knew that it was over. He couldn’t change history, and right now there was no escape. But that didn’t mean that he would go out without a fight, or that the last minutes of his life had to be useless. If he could somehow reach out, make Kurt listen, or at least plant a seed in his mind… maybe this could help him find himself, the person he could be…

 “This isn’t you,” Blaine said. “This is the darkest you will be, but this is not you, Kurt. You’re still in there. Your humanity. Your soul. And I know you will be that person again. You can find yourself again. I know, because… I believe in you. Your best self.”

 He could feel Kurt’s mouth open against his skin, the scrape of teeth, and he knew what was going to happen.

 “I believe in you,” Blaine said, carefully weighing his last words. “I love you.”

 The teeth disappeared from his skin, and for a second Blaine saw Kurt’s eyes, wide and confused.

 Sometimes, a second was all it took.

 He grabbed the chain around his neck, grabbed the cross at the end of it and pressed it into the vampire’s skin, and like a reflex, the words of the Hail Mary started flowing from his lips.

 He could hear the hiss of burnt skin, the scream from Kurt’s mouth, as he was let go and the vampire stumbled back. Blaine almost tripped backwards, trying to get away – and right into Sebastian’s too tall frame. A moment later, Kurt had gathered himself. In one strong move, Kurt’s hand grabbed the chain around his neck and ripped. The metal tore into the skin on Blaine’s neck as the links broke, and his grandmother’s cross was torn away from him. Before he could process the pain, his head was pulled back once more, his throat bared, and Kurt’s teeth sank into him.

 Fire consumed him. His words faltered, turned into a scream of agony. With the last bit of willpower he could muster, he channeled his screaming into words.

  _Hail Mary, full of grace_

 Everything burned down to these two points, and the pain filling every part of his consciousness except for the few scraps of his brain focusing on those words.

  _Our lord be with you. Blessed are you among women, and blessed the fruit of your womb, Jesus_

Everything burned down to these words that Cooper had never been able to escape from since that night 25 years ago. As the vortex widened around them, he grabbed the cross in his fist, shouting them out into the void.

  _Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and in the hour of our death_

The vortex opened around him, and through the haze, Cooper thought he could see silhouettes. With his free hand, he reached out through the mist.

  _Hail Mary, full of grace, our lord be with you. Blessed are you among women, and blessed the fruit of your womb, Jesus_

Blaine’s voice faltered around the words as darkness closed around him. He could hear voices, Sebastian, that other vampire, and faintly, echoing his own words…

  _Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners_

Cooper gasped, almost losing the prayer when he recognized Blaine’s form through the haze of the vortex. There was Kurt, his mouth closed around the boy’s throat, draining the life out of him. Cooper grabbed onto his brother’s shoulder, tried to pull him away, but it was like trying to grab mist. What was he doing wrong? Why couldn’t he actually touch him?

  _Now and in the hour of our death. Hail Mary, full of grace_

 It was like something cold went through Blaine, if he could even feel something like that, consumed by pain as he was. At the edge of his vision, he thought he could see the vortex, but it wasn’t grabbing at him like before. And yet, even as his voice shook around the words of the prayer he’d known since he was able to talk, he thought he could hear his brother’s voice.

  _Our lord be with you._

 It wasn’t working. Kurt could only stare helplessly as Cooper yelled out the words of the prayer, echoed by the rest of the gang, and grabbed into the vortex. They were failing, and right now, and far in the past, Blaine was dying.

 No.

 Cooper was right, they could not let it happen. If they had to break the rules of the universe to get him back, then so be it. What did a few more rules broken matter now, anyway? He took Cooper’s hand that was holding on to the necklace. He could feel the metal burning into his skin, but it didn’t matter. Blaine was out there and needed him. And even as his throat started burning worse than the strongest thirst he ever felt, he raised his voice, and joined in.

  _Blessed are you among women, and blessed the fruit of your womb, Jesus_

 The edge of his vision turned dark, and Blaine’s voice could barely form the words. Now he thought he could hear Kurt’s voice, and that clearly wasn’t possible – a vampire praying… But he couldn’t hold on. The words started to slur, his lids fell down, and as the last of his strength left him, it almost felt as if there were hands grabbing his shoulders, pulling him away from the agony, the rain…

  _Holy Mary, Mother of God_

 The world was whirling around him. So, this was what it felt like to die…

Except, dying felt a lot like the vortex. But this time, he wasn’t being thrown around. As the vortex whirled around him, there were hands on his shoulders, holding him steady and pulling him away from it all, and there were voices around him, chanting, praying…

  _Pray for us sinners_

 And that other voice, screaming for help, and finally, he understood. Even as he was pulled through the swirls of the vortex, he reached out, and finally, he grabbed her hands.

  _Now, and in the hour of our death_

  and then…

_Amen_.

 The vortex disappeared around him, and Blaine closed his eyes, anticipating once more the impact with the floor. Instead, he was caught, and arms wrapped around him. He didn’t have to look to remember this embrace, to know that it was over, that he was home, that it was Cooper holding him, and tears were flowing from his eyes as he finally was safe.

 Even as the blood oozed from the puncture wounds on his throat, he curled into his brother’s arms, with one last look up to the girl whose hand he was still holding.

 Rachel was looking up at him in awe, and gratitude, crying herself. From the corner of his vision, Blaine saw Jesse step forward, steadying the girl and asking if she was okay. A second later, he had to hurry to catch her as she fainted.

 She would be fine, certainly, even if Blaine didn’t have enough strength to keep his focus on her. Maybe his trip to the past had at least something good coming from it, if the opening vortex had absorbed her instead of her being dragged to hell. And now, they were both safe, and all he could care for right now was Cooper grounding him. It was over, and he had survived. It was the last thought he could hold onto, before the darkness finally closed around him.

 

* * *

 

Kurt couldn’t wrap his head around the events of the night. Blaine was alive, although by a thread. The last he’d seen was Cooper pressing compresses onto his brother’s throat, trying to stop him from losing even more blood while the ambulance was on its way. And Rachel had been there, too, unconscious in the arms of Jesse St. James, but clearly breathing and not in danger. Everything had been a blur around him. Kurt had barely been able to grasp what was going on, when Sebastian grabbed him and pulled him away from the scene. Then, they’d been running, until they had reached the cemetery. The quiet was almost a blessing, although his head was still ringing.

 “Well, that was… unexpected,” Sebastian said eventually, shaking his head.

 Kurt nodded, non-committedly. He wasn’t sure what he was supposed to say. “Why did you drag me away from there?” he asked eventually.

 Sebastian scoffed. “Seriously? You did not see how trigger-happy Schuster was getting? Trust me, getting out of there in the middle of the confusion was the smartest move we did all night. Look, the Scoobie gang might have been willing to let us go, but Schuster would not be on board with that. If you ask me, the sooner we leave this place the better.”

 Kurt looked up in confusion. “I’m not leaving,” he said immediately. He had to see Blaine at least one more time and beg him for forgiveness.

Sebastian looked at him in a way he couldn’t quite place. “Come back with me to Isabelle,” he said.

Kurt frowned. “Won’t she be angry? We failed to get the artefact.”

Sebastian looked up into the sky. “It’s weird, isn’t it?” he said. “Isabelle sent me here, right this night, to get the artefact. Which sent Blaine into the past, which made him your first victim…”

 “What are you getting at?” Kurt asked.

Sebastian hesitated a moment before speaking. “Do you think she knew what was going to happen? Was this all on purpose? Was the whole point of this mission just to send Blaine back and cause your transformation?”

 It was too much to consider. Kurt shook his head, unwilling to confront that thought and all its implications.

 “It doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters is Blaine,” he said.

 “You don’t get it, do you?” Sebastian asked harshly. “He’ll be the end of you. You love him. He’s going to die. If it’s not tonight, it will be some other time. And you won’t be able to handle it. It will break you.”

 “I…” Kurt stopped. “I know. But I couldn’t stay away from him if I tried.”

 For a moment, Sebastian looked as if he wanted to say something. Eventually, he shook his head.

 “Give him my regards,” he said. “And good luck.”

 Kurt watched him leave, and it felt like a chapter of his life was closing. As Sebastian was walking out of his life, it seemed as if he was taking the shadow of Isabelle with him. It felt lonely, even though just a short time ago Kurt would have done anything to be free of their influence. It was like floating. The only thing that could anchor him now was lying in a hospital room, holding onto life with his last strength.

 He didn’t even have to think about his next steps. There would be a risk going there, be it from over-eager Watchers or a vengeful Slayer, but none of it mattered for the mere chance of seeing Blaine was okay.

 When he reached the hospital, he wondered for a second how he could figure out where Blaine was, but his worries were unfounded. Santana and Brittany were standing in front of the building, wrapped up in a conversation. As Kurt approached, they both turned to him.

 “Look who’s shown up,” Santana said. “Where’s your gal-pal?”

 “Sebastian has left,” Kurt said. “What about Blaine? Is he…?”

 “He’s getting a transfusion as we speak,” Santana said. “He’ll live. Cooper’s with him right now. Then there’s that girl he brought along. She’s unconscious, we’ll figure out who she is later.”

 “Rachel. Her name’s Rachel,“ Kurt said softly.

 “St. James is taking care of it,” Santana said. For a moment, they stood in silence, until Brittany got distracted by some sort of bugs on the ground.

 “What are you waiting for, then?” Santana asked eventually. “Second floor, IMC. Third room on the left. He wants to see you.”

 Kurt frowned. “Are you sure?”

 Santana rolled her eyes. “Just go in.”

 It felt unreal to just walk into the hospital. Of course, he knew where the IMC was. It wasn’t the first time Blaine had ended up there. He found the room Santana had spoken of without trouble. Uncertain, he hesitated in front of it. Through the door’s glass panel, he could see Cooper sitting at Blaine’s bedside. The boy looked paler than Kurt had ever seen him, and blood was dripping into him over an iv needle. For a second, Cooper turned his head and their eyes connected.

 As Kurt watched, Cooper pressed a kiss onto his brother’s forehead, spoke a few words, and then walked to the door.

 Kurt wasn’t sure what to expect. Death threats maybe, or even a killing blow without a warning.

 “He’s going to be fine,” Cooper said, instead, and smiled. “We did it. We actually changed history.”

 “I guess we did,” Kurt agreed. His memories had become even hazier than before. At the same time, he remembered holding the boy’s corpse, completely drained, as well as the body torn from his hold by the purple vortex. He couldn’t think too much about it, not without his head starting to ache. This would be something for another night.

 The silence stretched between them. Cooper was the one to break it.

 “He wants to see you.”

 It shouldn’t be a surprise, and still Kurt had to suppress the warmth blossoming inside him at these words. Instead, he tried to focus on what was actually in front of him.

 “So… how are we doing this?” he asked. “When will you… you know?”

 Cooper frowned. “When will I what?”

 Kurt had to look to the ground. “End it?”

 Cooper tilted his head. “End what? Wait… end you? Why would I?”

 Kurt looked at him in disbelief. “I… I killed him. You said…”

 “I said I’ll end you if we don’t save him,” Cooper replied. “Which we did. We actually changed the past to save his life. I have no reason to end you.”

 This wasn’t what Kurt had expected, and yet he shouldn’t be surprised. Cooper had always been an unconventional Slayer. Mercy at this point was actually quite in character.

 But the way Cooper was looking at him, there was clearly something else he wanted to say.

 “We’ve come a long way since that night, haven’t we?” he said eventually.

 Kurt closed his eyes, tried to remember that night when he had held Blaine in his arms, draining the life out of him. A long way, indeed – at least for him. Cooper hadn’t even been born yet.

 “I was so terrified,” Cooper continued, “I just wanted to scream and run away. I really, really wanted my mom, even though she wasn’t the most present person you could imagine.”

 Kurt frowned. How did that fit into what we were talking about? Cooper hadn’t been there. Just what was he going on about?

 “But I couldn’t be afraid,” Cooper said. “Blaine needed me. I had to be strong and protect him. Of course, prayer isn’t actually enough.” He threw a mock glare at Kurt. “You were a real bastard, you know that?”

 “What are you talking about?” Kurt asked.

 “I spent the whole night locked up in that bathroom,” Cooper said. “All night praying the Hail Mary, thinking I could keep Blaine safe. Mom only found us in the morning, when she heard him cry. So yeah, you were a bastard.”

 Bathroom? The Hail Mary? None of it made sense, and Kurt was just about to tell him – when it clicked.

 He counted back the years, remembered that boy he had terrified, the one who’d rather spend the whole night praying instead of abandoning his baby brother, remembered the bright blue eyes, the same ones staring into his right now.

 “You,” he whispered. “That was you?”

 Cooper looked at him strangely. “You didn’t know?”

 Kurt closed his eyes. His mind was reeling. His whole past seemed to be dredged up by this night, and he didn’t know how to deal with any of it. Blaine was the boy who vanished, Cooper the child that had made him abandon murder. It seemed he couldn’t do a major turn without an Anderson there to guide him. What did that even say about him?

 Cooper chuckled, and finally seemed to take pity on him. “Look, you were a bastard. But you’ve come a long way from then. You helped me save Blaine. I once promised to keep him safe from all monsters – especially you. But you actually have changed. And I trust you with his safety. Just… don’t disappoint that trust. Take good care of him.”

 Kurt was pretty sure he didn’t deserve that trust.

 “Now go in,” Cooper said. “He wants to see you before he falls asleep. Go.”

 He could hardly feel the floor beneath his feet as he walked into the room. Blaine’s eyes were closed, his skin so ashen that there was hardly a difference to the pillow he was resting on. But as the door closed, his eyes opened. He looked around, eventually settling on Kurt.

 The boy tried to sit up in his bed, although he was clearly to weak to do it. Kurt hurried over, steadying him until he was upright. There was still blood dripping into his veins, and Kurt found himself wrinkling his nose.

 “You’re here,” Blaine said. His voice was raspy, weak, but calm.

 After a moment of hesitation, he answered with “yeah”. What was he supposed to say? What could he possibly say to even begin making up for all he’d done to this boy in front of him?

 Blaine leaned against him, as if he hadn’t just been almost killed by him.

 “I really wanted to see you,” Blaine said softly. “Thank you for coming.”

 “I just don’t understand why,” Kurt said. “After what I did to you… Blaine… I’m so sorry. The things I did to you… I know, I can never make it up to you. But if I could take it back… I swear, I would.”

 Blaine sighed. “I know,” he said. “I just… I needed to see you. The real you. The one I know. I missed you.”

 Kurt closed his eyes. “I don’t understand how you can stand looking at me. I’m a monster.”

 Even with half-closed lids, Blaine rolled his eyes. “No, you’re not.”

 As Kurt tried to protest, he shook his head.

 “Stop it, you’re not. You were. Back then. But you’ve changed. You came back to yourself, like I said. Remember?”

 “Remember what?” Kurt asked in confusion.

 “Do you remember what I said?” Blaine asked. “Before… the end?”

 “The Hail Mary,” Kurt said.

 Blaine looked dismayed and shook his head. “Before.”

 Kurt tried to think back, to figure out just what Blaine meant. “I… I’m sorry,” he said eventually.

 Now, Blaine looked slightly upset. “Oh,” he muttered. “Never mind, then.”

 Kurt frowned, and wondered what to say. But Blaine was exhausted, barely able to keep his eyes open.

 “You should rest,” Kurt said softly.

 Blaine nodded. “I will see you when I wake up, right? I mean… when I get out of here?” he asked. “Promise?”

 Kurt smiled at him. “Promise.”

 Blaine looked up at him in gratitude that Kurt knew he didn’t deserve. Before he fell asleep though, Kurt took something out of his pockets – the necklace he’d kept for all those years. Careful not to touch the cross, he placed the chain around Blaine’s neck, closing it.

 Blaine looked down at his grandmother’s cross and smiled up at him. “I’ll see you then,” he whispered, before his eyes closed and he fell asleep.

 

* * *

 

 

The cold night air was a relief.

 Blaine leaned against the railing of his balcony, taking in the street at night, and for a moment he just allowed himself to enjoy the moment. He’d been released from the hospital today, after almost a week, and everybody had made a fuzz about it. It was actually a relief to have some time for himself.

 At least it would be, if there wasn’t the feeling of being watched. He glanced down to the street, until his eyes fell onto the silhouette of the person on the street looking up at him.

 Blaine could feel a smile forming. He beckoned with his head, and a moment later, the figure had leapt up, landing on the other side of the railing.

 “Hey,” Blaine said.

 “Hi,” Kurt replied. He looked insecure, and that was a look that Blaine wasn’t used to.

 Blaine took a step back, allowing the vampire to step on the balcony. “It’s been a while.”

 Kurt shrugged. “You know how I feel about hospitals,” he said. After a moment, he continued. “How have you been?”

 “Okay,” Blaine said. “I just got out discharged today. Rachel was luckier, they actually let her out a few days ago.”

 “I know,” Kurt said. “I talked to her. It’s just so surreal to have her back…”

 “She’s staying with us for now,” Blaine said. “So, you can see her anytime. Cooper and Jesse explained everything to her. It’s a bit much to process at once, but she’s doing well so far.”

 “That’s good,” Kurt said. “It’s… good. How are you holding up?”

 “I’m better. I’ll have to take it slowly for a while, but I’m getting there. Can’t say I’m complaining that the Schusters have finally left Sunnydale.”

 “Good. I really hope we’ve seen the last of them,” Kurt said.

 Blaine wasn’t sure what had happened, why they were talking like this, reduced to small talk. This wasn’t what he wanted. He had waited to talk to Kurt since he woke up in the hospital. The small snippet back then wasn’t nearly enough.

 Almost dying was a great way of gaining perspective, and Blaine had certainly gotten a lot of it. There’d also finally been enough time to think things through. He was tired of fighting against the way he was feeling. He had wasted enough time driving himself crazy over how he felt for Kurt, and he was tired of it.

 Almost as tired as he was of small talk.

 “Can we talk about something real?” he asked.

 Kurt looked at him in confusion, but then nodded. “Whatever you want.”

 “I want to talk about the past. Your past… and my part in it,” Blaine said.

 Immediately, Kurt’s eyes widened. “What… which part?”

 “How much do you remember?” Blaine asked. “Because… it’s kind of fresh for me.”

 “I’m sorry,” Kurt said. “I… I can never make up to you what I’ve done. I was horrible to you. I was a monster, even before I turned. I… I used you. I never should have done that. You trusted me and I threw it back into your face at almost every opportunity. I know I can never make up for it, but… if I have the chance, you have to know, I’ll do anything.”

 Kurt’s expression was tortured, as if he really hadn’t been able to shake this thought since they last saw each other, but unfortunately, he didn’t seem to have used the last few days to develop some perspective of his own.

 “Listen,” Blaine said softly, “I told you. I don’t think you’re a monster, not anymore. You were, for a while. Definitely at the end. But Kurt… the point is, you didn’t stay like that.”

 Kurt looked at him in surprise, as if this was news for him.

 “I was there, Kurt. From the beginning up to your worst point. Don’t forget, I’ve seen it. Not everything, but enough to understand. You did horrible things. You allowed yourself to become awful. But you also moved on from it. You changed, you left it behind, and Kurt… you became so much more than that. To turn away from all that, not because anything forced you, but because of your conscience… you don’t understand how huge that is. And that’s okay. I think that’s part of what makes you so… unique. That you don’t recognize just how good you are. But Kurt… I do. I see it. And I’m… I’m blown away by you. How far you’ve come. How hard it’s been. How much you’re still struggling even now.”

 Kurt still looked at him as if he had trouble believing he was real.

 “Kurt… did you think about it?” he asked. “Do you remember, what I said?”

 Kurt looked down. “That you believe in me?” he said. It sounded more like a question, as if he was guessing.

 It would be so easy to hide behind that, to just put everything aside and return into safe waters.

 But Blaine was tired of it. He was tired of hiding who he was, how he felt. He was tired of pretending there was nothing but friendship. He was tired of wasting his time. This had to get out into the open, and this was as good a time as any. Almost to nervous to talk, Blaine held onto Kurt’s hand.

 “You don’t understand how much I admire you. I was looking up to you before I understood what you really went through, what you turned away from. But seeing it all… it’s overwhelming. And I’m sorry, so sorry for the part I played in all of it, but Kurt… I’m tired of hiding the truth. And the truth is…”

 One more deep breath. And go.

 “I love you.”

 And Kurt stared at him, in… shock? Disbelief? Wonder?

 “I… just… how? After all I did…?” Kurt whispered eventually.

 “I do.”

 Kurt stared at him, as if he was from out of this world. And then, suddenly, he looked shocked back into action.

 “I love you too,” he whispered. “You have no idea how much, Blaine.”

Blaine closed his eyes, his knees feeling ridiculously weak. He hadn’t realized how much he had longed to hear these words. Suddenly, Kurt’s arms were around him, holding him up, and all he could do was surge forward, capturing the vampire’s lips with his own, and kissing him as if his life was depending on it.

 Eventually, he had to pull back, gasping for air. Kurt was still looking at him like that, as if he were precious, special, and his throat seemed to close up. He kissed Kurt once more, softly, gratefully.

 Kurt looked as if he couldn’t believe what had happened. “I love you,” he whispered again.

 Blaine’s heart felt as if it was swelling up to inhabit the whole of his chest. He hadn’t known he could even feel this happy. Not just happy. Complete. As if the ordeal he’d gone through had finally started to make sense. There was just one more thing missing.

 “Kurt?” he asked, his voice shaking with the importance of his next words. “Do you want to come inside?”

 Kurt’s eyes widened as he realized the implication, as if it mattered even more than the confession, and in a way it did. This more than anything showed him the level of trust that had built between them, how far they’d come since that night they first met, the clueless boy and the spiteful vampire.

 A long way, indeed.

 What wasn’t long was the way into his room, back to his bed, and down into the sheets. As they lay there kissing, exploring, Blaine faintly realized that things had changed, that they were taking an important step. Maybe it had been inevitable from the moment they met. Either way, they had spent enough time wallowing in the past. For now, the future was waiting. And finally, their time had come.


End file.
